Thy Daily Ramyeon
by Laryna6
Summary: Tumblr event oneshot collection. Cats, cherries, school dance preparations, bedtime stories, SCIENCE, Raskreia not putting up with this nonsense, picking up a literal chick, obligatory chibi fic, more cats, spoiling the children & a hot springs episode.
1. Family Pets

_My contribution to Mayuri-ako's idea to post Noblesse things around Halloween on tumblr._

* * *

Takeo smiled as he shifted his aim.

"Look at him go!" Tao cheered as the white cat pounced on the red dot from Takeo's laser sight (removed from his rifle and shifted into unmodified-human-visible range by Intimidation Mode).

Takeo moved the tip of it in small circles as the animal determinedly chased it all over the floor, careful to avoid the furniture after M-21's warning about the houseowner's reaction to damaged property. He wouldn't want to get the animal in trouble.

"He loves that kind of thing," M-21 said with a little smirk as the cat scrabbled to rotate 160 degrees.

Cream's head had perked up the instant the dot appeared on the floor and he'd gone leaping after it as soon as Takeo wriggled it a little. Orange had pushed himself up a little to see where Cream was going, but stretched and lay back down in the sunny spot, glancing over every so often but pretending to ignore the other cat's foolishness.

"What about you?" Tao asked, crouching down next to the striped cat. "Shouldn't you be named Orange Cream and that cat be called Milk? Maybe even Skim Milk," he rambled on. "Or Peaches and Cream! Should I call you Peaches?"

From the way the cat rolled over and presented his belly (meaning all his pointy bits) to Tao, Takeo guessed that was a definite no.

"Aww, he likes me!" Tao crowed, reaching down.

Takeo's eyes widened in alarm but M-21 was the first to say, "Watch out! He doesn't like strangers petting him."

"But he's…" Tao started to argue then looked down at the cat. "…He's got all his weapons pointed at me." He chuckled. "Right. Got it! If you don't like to be touched, how about some treats?"

Takeo was a little surprised Tao backed down that easily instead of wanting to figure out how to make the cat let Tao pet him, but maybe the treats were that strategy. Or maybe Takeo wasn't the only one who sympathized with animals who didn't want humans to manhandle them. The Union always did human testing, but cats were put in cages and experimented on by others.

That was why it was such a surprise when they'd volunteered for the same experiment as M-21 and followed Frankenstein to the Animal Testing Room to find it full of slight variations on toys and refrigerated portions of sashimi and beef jerky. The modified humans were left to taste-test the treats while Frankenstein tracked down the younger two pets – the half-grown cat and the puppy were a lot more cooperative than Orange – so they could test out playing with them with the different toys.

Takeo's enhanced hearing detected thumping on the stairs – the puppy must have heard all the roughhousing. With a happy bark, Coco joined Cream in chasing the red dot.

"I wonder why they didn't take the dog with them on their walk?" Tao mused, holding a piece of fish up to Orange's mouth.

"Sometimes they walk, sometimes they jump over rooftops," M-21 said. "Coco's not used to that yet. If Frankenstein tells us to take the pets for a walk he means Cream and Coco, not Orange. Someone might try to pet him and then he'd take a swipe at them."

Tao and Takeo nodded. "Did Raizel find him in an alley like Coco?"

M-21 shrugged. "They had the cats before I got here, but there's no way Orange is some pampered pureblood."

Not like Cream. They were both well-groomed, but while Cream was lithe, delicate and as willing to play with the humans as the puppy, Orange was built more solidly and the stripes of paler fur gave him the appearance of an old-battle-scarred warrior.

That aside, "…I think you mean _purebred_."

"Like Regis?" Tao grinned, then pouted. "I want to pet Orange but I don't want him to be mad at me!"

"Sit down in a sunny spot, get Cream to come sit in your lap and Orange might wander over and join him," M-21 told him. "That's how I got to do it. You'll have to sit still, though."

"I can do that… If I've got a computer in front of me," Tao admitted after Takeo and M-21 both gave him a look. He popped one of the pieces of fish in his mouth.

It said something that the food Frankenstein gave his _pets_ was better than anything they had ever gotten at the Union. Tao wasn't as bad as Raizel, but Takeo had noticed that Tao seemed to crave the fatty fish – 'brain food,' when Tao's brain was heavily modified and modified bodies… tended not to last long. If those fats were used to protect and repair the brain, then Takeo wasn't going to comment on Tao eating the cat treats.

For that matter it was a good idea, just in case – animals were less resilient than modified humans, and Frankenstein wouldn't risk poisoning or adulterating the pet food in case anything happened to them. His Master would be upset. It was hard to imagine a scientist caring about another living thing, but even though Frankenstein had fainted when Raizel brought Coco home not yet housebroken and had to be revived after Seira made the… substance vanish from his floor (which begged the question of why Regis picked up after the children instead of doing that, but Takeo knew about hiding enhanced abilities from regular humans), he hadn't tried to get rid of the puppy.

Tao and Takeo had thought he was _kidding_ when he conscripted M-21 to 'translate' by repeating what Frankenstein said to the puppy, but Coco really did seem to understand what M-21 said, wagging his tail at them and barking happily as Frankenstein explained about wiping his mouth off on the towel after using his water or food bowls, going out into the garden around the house and how to behave while on walks.

Coco's tongue was already starting to hang out of his mouth, but finally he plopped down, tired. Takeo picked him up, smiling down at him apologetically even though the puppy didn't seem _unhappy_ to be tired out. He folded an arm and rested Coco there, twirling the scope in his other hand until he saw that Cream was circling Takeo's feet instead of chasing the dot. "There you go," Takeo said, walking into the kitchen and setting Coco down by his water bowl – water fountain with built-in filters and cleaning system, really.

The pets here got higher-quality and better tasting water than they had at the Union, too.

Coco lapped it up as quickly as he could, tail wagging hard enough to shake his entire little body. Cream rubbed up against him companionably.

"He'll be bigger than you soon," Takeo told the cat, smoothing his fur into place to spare Cream the effort of doing it himself. When Coco saw Cream grooming himself he tried to 'help,' with… very cute results, true, but Cream must also be tired after running around like that.

"One for you, and one for me, and one for you, and one for M-21!"

Takeo whirled to see M-21 snatching the piece of white fish out of the air, glaring at Tao for trying to surprise him like that while chewing. What if the food had landed on the floor? The cats were too finicky to eat food off the floor and the dog wasn't allowed to eat raw fish. They weren't allowed to eat anything 'dirty' either – Frankenstein forbade it. If M-21 hadn't caught it when Tao threw it at him the food would have gone to waste!

Orange got up and walked away from Tao, not impressed with his shenanigans either. He sat on top of M-21's slippers.

"I ate the fish," M-21 told him, guessing that was what Orange wanted.

Done drinking, the puppy enthusiastically nuzzled the soft fluffy towel around his bowl, tail still wagging, then looked up at Takeo hopefully. Takeo crouched down to pick him up again, still careful not to make any sudden movements. He'd interacted with stray animals before, so even though Coco had a home now and seemed confident that none of them would hurt him, Takeo didn't want to scare the puppy.

Cream looked at Takeo and crouched, wriggling, so Takeo wasn't surprised either when Cream jumped up onto his right shoulder. The cat waited until Takeo stood up to walk over to his left shoulder, then his right again before settling on his left as Takeo returned to the living room. Once Takeo sat down, Cream walked onto the back of the couch and jumped down onto the seat before joining Coco on Takeo's lap.

M-21 sat down next to Takeo, watching Tao suspiciously. Or was that 'took refuge behind Takeo?' Takeo smiled a little as Coco licked at his fingers.

As soon as M-21 sat down, Orange practically materialized in his lap, then stepped across the gap, putting one foot on Takeo's lap with his hind legs still on M-21's lap to rub his cheek against Cream's. Coco immediately wriggled over to start sniffing at Orange's neck. The cat looked miffed but allowed the liberty.

Coco let out the cutest little yawn and stood up to scramble around Takeo's lap, climbing on top of Cream and down his other side before snuggling against Takeo's stomach half on top of Cream and closing his little eyes. Cream gazed out into the room, ignoring the fact he was being used as a mattress. Orange looked even more annoyed, withdrawing himself to M-21's lap and sitting up. When M-21 took that as his cue to stroke the cat Orange regally ignored it, wrapping his tail around his legs.

"I wonder if Boss bought them because they're like him and _him?"_ Tao wondered, sitting next to Takeo and leaning over all of them.

M-21 snorted, like _that_ was obvious.

"Then _he_ brought home Coco for M-21… I wonder if they'll get us-pets, now that we're staying?"

Takeo felt himself sit up a little more. He had noticed the personalities of the animals, how Raizel took in a 'worthless mutt' and showered Coco with affection… Well, pet the puppy while seeming to regally ignore it, but that seemed very demonstrative for nobles.

"I'm a cat, but Takeo could go either way. What about Seira and Regis, though?"

"Maybe that's why they haven't adopted animals for us," Takeo said quickly, trying to keep Tao from feeling hurt or disappointed.

"Well, adding four pets all at once, when they have to be sure they all get along with each other? Oh, but Coco and Regis-pet would have to like playfighting with each other, too! They might run all over the house and knock into the furniture even more than Cream and Coco do when they're playing! Maybe that's why _he_ hasn't brought home more animals, Boss might not like it."

"He didn't like it when Raizel had me come here with them," M-21 said, automatically petting the cat in his lap.

"I think Orange is a former stray too, like Coco," Takeo said, looking at M-21's hand knowing the mark on the inside of his wrist. "I wonder if that means anything."

"About Boss? And Cream is all sweet and elegant, oh yes you are," Tao said, tickling the cat under the chin. "I bet Boss picked Cream out so _he_ had a pet. Maybe _he_ found Orange so Cream wouldn't be stuck at home alone all day while they're at the school?"

Cream ignored Tao, staring off into space and shifting a little in Takeo's lap, as though he was about to pounce out from under Coco and go chasing off after something.

…and there he went, leaping up the stairs, Orange chasing after him.

Woken by the thump into Takeo's lap as Cream disappeared from under him, Coco levered himself up on his front legs before plopping down again. Takeo scratched him consolingly so he didn't feel abandoned.

* * *

Smiling brilliantly, Frankenstein dealt with the animal shelter employees and volunteers, keeping them clustered around him. It took a great deal of work to keep them from being drawn towards Master, no matter how large a check Frankenstein was waving. Especially when Raizel was walking up and down the rows, letting out all the animals before sitting down on a chair and letting the first candidate run up to him eagerly.

"Why don't we adjourn to your office," Frankenstein said, dialing up the wattage as Raizel began a serious discussion with the animals about the job openings and the duties the new household members would need to fulfill, such as lying on Tao's keyboard and receiving pets when Tao had been on the computers too long and needed a break, or _not_ picking up Takeo's guns and playing keep-away in hopes of starting a game of fetch.

Frankenstein used turning into animals as a means of avoiding Union pursuit – and he'd encouraged Master to learn the techniques trying to get him to do something, _anything_ but stand there in front of that window. It was Raizel's idea to use his animal form to give M-21 comfort and sympathy he'd been too scared to accept from a powerful being, even one that wasn't human (when it was humans who had hurt M-21, one of their own kind…).

Now, Frankenstein had to act fast to improve local shelter conditions and adoption programs so that he could assure Raizel that these animals would have good homes soon _before_ Raizel could turn _that_ expression on Frankenstein. Thinking these animals had nowhere to call home would make Raizel sad, and Frankenstein truly couldn't handle a sad Master.

The torments of Dark Spear, the trials of centuries of solo warfare were endurable, but even Frankenstein had his limits.

* * *

 _I've had scenes in this 'verse in my head for awhile._ _Raizel doesn't sit in the main room hoping someone will talk to him/observing the others at play so much, because he has another way to actively participate – with his classmates disguised as a normal high school student, with the children disguised as harmless in another way._

 _Despite being aware he gets his ass kicked at Counterstrike, the household can't imagine Rai chasing after a laser pointer, so while they've noticed some similarities the idea that Cream is Rai is hahahano._

 _In an ideal world I'd like to do at least four more bits of this 'verse, but that's dependent on my energy level, which is a jerk._


	2. The Pits

_This is_ _for madameazzure's Noblesse December Event on Tumblr._

 _Prompt 23 - Cherry_

* * *

He'd stood on a ladder in an orchard himself to obtain these red-black gems. Perfect, ripe cherries at the height of the season.

The color, firmness, the _scent_ …

The thought of a drop of their juice falling on Master's school jacket. Or on the carpet. The upholstery. The _stains…_

But these cherries were perfect, he knew, popping one into his mouth and savoring it for a lingering few seconds before decorously disposing of the pit with a paper napkin.

They were _perfect_ and he wanted Master to have them. He'd never been able to get cherries or apples to grow right on Lukedonia, the climate was just too unnatural for the pickier trees to set fruit.

Master, and his friends. They might insist on their junk food, but who could resist these? At least they'd eat something nutritious this way.

…and he had replacement furniture in the basement if Regis' growing knowledge of human cleaning methods and Miss Seira's powers combined couldn't remove the stains.

Raizel was standing on the balcony waiting for him when he reached home. "Master," he said, bowing. "These are for you." He held out the bowl. When Raizel hesitated, Frankenstein said, "This fruit is called the cherry."

Master nodded, reaching out and taking one. Popping it into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed slowly as Frankenstein waited, breathless, for Raizel's verdict.

With a dignified nod, Raizel reached out and took a second cherry.

…Ah. Given the strength behind a noble's bite, Master might not have even noticed the pit.

Frankenstein opened his mouth to explain about the pits, but then realized he would be telling Master to _spit something out_. He couldn't picture his Master, always so beautifully elegant, doing something so undignified because Frankenstein told him to… How could he live with the guilt?

He would have to remove the pits himself, that would solve the problem, he realized, but then Raizel took the bowl from his hands and stepped indoors.

No, Frankenstein couldn't take his gift away and deprive Raizel of the pleasure of sharing them with the others!

 _They_ could explain about the pits. Either Miss Seira and Regis would already know about cherries, and have some way of explaining the problem and solution to a noble without injuring that noble's dignity, or Tao would have to explain so the nobles didn't give themselves away.

…Or he'd come into the main room to find all of the people living in their home eating cherries, Tao scrambling to pretend he hadn't been tossing them up to land in his mouth, without a bowl in the center of the living room table for the pits. "Are they to your liking?" he asked, hiding a wince. If they noticed his discomfort, they would probably attribute it to the risk of stains

"They're delicious, thank you," Takeo said.

"Crunchy! Reminds me of Union rations," Tao said, and M-21 nodded. "A lot tastier, though," Tao added quickly before Frankenstein could think Tao'd insulted the food _Raizel_ brought them by comparing it to whatever trash the Union fed its victims.

Oh, yes. Enhanced humans. Frankenstein had seen Takeo chew absently on his bullet casings while he was focused on lining up a shot.

No helping it then. "Normally, humans don't eat the pits," he explained, and went to fetch a bowl and some napkins from the kitchen.


	3. Moondance

_This is a thank-you giftfic for Zvaize of tumblr, who let me use their wonderful art as covers for_ True Vocation _and_ Familiar. _It's also another Noblesse December Event fic._

 _Prompt 8 Waltz_

 _The McCarthy Era was seriously WTF, and they weren't just targeting 'commies' that way…_

* * *

Frankenstein hummed, letting himself move with the rhythm, step after step. Master moved with him perfectly, of course. The bond between them didn't need to be open, not for such a small thing as this.

Here on the rooftop, hazes of red and blue, purple and gold light reaching up from below, it wasn't possible to see more than a handful of stars even with enhanced vision. No matter, the moon was enough.

It shouldn't be full for a couple more days, but it already appeared circular enough to set the mood. Frankenstein wasn't the only one to think so – the moon had appeared fuller than it should for a few months now, since their return from Lukedonia. It was being attributed to any number of things: light pollution, the sunspot cycle, the 'supermoon' that would be happening in a few years, the end of the world. He wondered what the werewolves thought of it for a moment, then chuckled to himself.

Humans associated the full moon with werewolves because humans were more likely to spot werewolves during a full moon. Werewolves knew that humans had terrible night vision, so they went out into human lands at night. During a full moon there was more light, but not really enough for a werewolf to notice the difference and avoid going out then, so it was easier for humans to realize they hadn't caught a glimpse of a wolf, mutant or fellow human wearing furs but a werewolf.

The cool, serene moon, moving to its own rhythm fit the noble aesthetic far better than the energetic werewolves. He wondered what they thought of comets and shooting stars, of the meteorites that left those craters on the moon, but he was no longer on good enough terms with Muzaka to ask him sociological questions, and it seemed the other werewolves were also enemies. He couldn't leave them alive to ask them questions, that increased the odds that they'd say something that would force Master to execute them instead of leaving it to Frankenstein.

Master's hand squeezed his slightly, and Frankenstein smiled and pulled Raizel into a slow twirl, still full of decorum. He was demonstrating moves that Master might wish to use, after all.

Raizel's face appeared serene and untroubled, but anyone familiar with him could read his intent, focused concentration. His determination and how seriously he took such human things was beyond adorable.

The main purpose of Ye Ran's school dances was to be sure that students were prepared to do well in society. That let Frankenstein make them mandatory – he'd made sure to include an article on the importance of social skills to advancement in the business and political worlds – not to mention academic - in the last school newsletter. Although lack of tenure wasn't the biggest problem he'd had after trying to get involved in academia without a full-time faculty wife last century – being a confirmed bachelor working at a university got their secret police after him last time he was in America. He'd decided to find a good reason to leave the country before there was any risk his cover identity might cross the wrong person's desk. The Union liked to 'recruit' people who wouldn't be missed, and back then America considered 'undesirable' scientists much better to hand over than the kind of person they actually _wanted_ to give credit for scientific advancement.

Some poor bastard might have picked his name out of a hat for someone to turn in – if so he couldn't really blame them. If you were accused of homosexuality or entrapped by one of the secret police and arrested, it was inform on three other 'deviants' or your sentence would be even worse, and he was a foreigner who didn't have a family to support. You could even be dragged out of your home in broad daylight for associating with known homosexuals, and then your life would be ruined one way or another unless you acted quickly to appease the secret police and preserve your reputation.

Ye Ran was known to be liberal, but it was always a fine line to walk, helping his students grow up healthy without making them targets.

He smiled before Raizel was forced to intervene. It was too nice a night to think of humans' inhumanity to their fellow humans. Of steps forward and steps back. Not when there was an interesting phenomenon in the sky above, evidence of humanity's technological advancement in spite of the Union below and a long-missed noble in his arms.

Lights. Moonlight, neon light, the light of Raizel's red eyes. A human and a noble, hand in hand, moving to the music they made with voice and boots on concrete as distant voices and the sounds of a living city came up from below.

Lights that outshone the stars themselves.

They turned, and light of different hues cast different shadows on Raizel's face.

What must Master see, over Frankenstein's shoulders? He must like the view here, he came here so often on walks. That was why Frankenstein chose this place for their private lesson.

He might have to teach the children, but he was sure Tao would take care of asking Miss Seira to teach them so they didn't need _more_ training from Frankenstein. He was used to that kind of quick thinking from Tao, and it was why he would do so well in society.

Taking a step back finally, he adjusted the position of his hands. "If you would?" Did Master feel ready to take the lead?

Raizel nodded and Frankenstein smiled, relaxing into Master's hold and the motion of the dance, as Raizel took the first step and he began humming along, creating the music only they could hear.

* * *

"One two three four, _one_ two three four," Tao chanted, a little disappointed that M-21 hadn't noticed it when Tao stepped on his foot. Their work shoes were pretty tough, though, and Tao hadn't stepped _hard_. He wasn't going to hurt M-21 just to set up a joke. "Wow, Miss Seira looks so pretty!"

Her cheeks colored a little with pleasure instead of embarrassment, as she danced with Takeo, taking the lead so he could learn the rhythm and motions. Miss Seira was hard to embarrass – except when she and Boss' Boss were getting embarrassed on Boss' behalf. Tao wondered if Raizel got embarrassed so Boss didn't have to or something. He'd have to think about that – it could definitely be a thing in noble logic.

"I don't see why we have to learn how to dance," M-21 said. "We're not students, we're just chaperoning."

"Do you want to say that to Boss?" Tao asked him.

M-21 snorted.

"Anyway, Miss Seira's a chaperone too," not a school chaperone, but she came to South Korea as little Regis' chaperone and Adult Supervision, "and she'll be dancing, right?"

Miss Seira nodded, turning herself and Takeo within the next few steps so that both of them could see Tao and M-21 and they could have a conversation. As to be expected of Miss Seira!

Thank goodness Sir Karias had taken Rael for more training in how to disguise himself as a responsible adult and wouldn't be back until the dance was over, or that might not end well. But with only five people, Regis was stuck standing there. There was a word for that, wallflower!

"Did the houseowner say when they would be back from their walk?" Regis asked hopefully. He probably wanted to dance with Boss or _him_ , because Regis admired their elegance. Tao totally got it, he wanted to be like Boss too.

Tao looked around to see people shaking their heads. "I can see if they're heading back," he said, dropping M-21 and leaping upstairs.

The others didn't follow him immediately. It was M-21 who joined him first. "Are you coming down? Seira wants me to dance with Regis if you're not."

"Sssh," Tao said, even though the microphone was off, holding his fingers to his lips and then frantically pointing at the camera because M-21 had to see this.

The two of them were dancing in the moonlight, not the slow, sedate movement Seira showed them, but jumps and whirls and throws, the two of them moving together so perfectly Tao at first wondered if they were reading each other's minds, but that would be the mundane explanation. The _boring_ one. The thought that kept Tao glued to the screen was that maybe they just knew each other that well, that Frankenstein could read Raizel's small expressions, the hints that he was about to move so well that they didn't _need_ to speak to dance together like this, like a well-oiled machine. Two halves of a whole. All that stuff on the daytime dramas Frankenstein had frowned over them watching because it might rot their brains but it really couldn't rot them worse than the Union had. Just as long as they remembered that real life wasn't like in dramas.

It was hard to know what parts of dramas were real, though. Some of the things the internet said weren't real totally were, like werewolves.

Some things the Union said weren't real truly were real, like love.

Tao wasn't sure when the others came in, but he hoped it was before Boss and Raizel's pace slowed to something even slower than the dance Miss Seira showed them, before Raizel's arm went around Boss' back and Boss' head rested on Raizel's shoulder, and they kept moving soft and slow and quiet and he was taping this and keeping the footage _everywhere_ no matter how hard Boss would kill him if he found it.

It would be so worth it, though. Just to have the reminder that he lived in a world where there were things like this. Where a noble and an enhanced human… where two people like this could love each other this much.

Where two people like this could love Tao so much they made him a part of this family.

* * *

 _When you attempt romance but end up with family fluff._


	4. Chasing Rabbits

_The last of the ones for madameazzure's Noblesse December Event on Tumblr._

 _Prompt 5 Rabbit_

* * *

Takeo and M-21 paused outside the lab door when they heard Tao laughing.

What made Takeo's brow crease even though the sound relieved him was that it wasn't a laugh of triumph or a laugh to cover nervousness. It wasn't even the sound of Tao laughing at his own jokes because in DA-5 no one else would, _could_ allow someone else to elicit emotion from them like that. Laughing along was seen as allowing Tao to manipulate them, a loss of face. Dragging them down into his childishness.

No, it was almost a giggle, as though Tao wasn't laughing at his own joke or a private observation but someone else had forced a laugh out of him?

That was, that was good. It had to be Frankenstein – Takeo couldn't imagine his master telling a joke, and Regis was too serious. Perhaps Miss Seira, but they'd seen her in the kitchen on the way down, cooking up three of Tao's favorites.

"I never noticed this door wasn't soundproofed before," M-21 said, as if to himself.

The words surprised Takeo out of his private thoughts – why would the houseowner overlook that? Wasn't allowing people outside the lab to hear what went on within an unacceptable security risk?

But… it was reassuring. If they could hear Tao laughing, then surely they'd hear it if he screamed.

Takeo smiled to himself – another example of the strange consideration that was the norm here. They kept realizing they'd been given things it had never occurred to them to want, and would never dare to ask for. Perhaps they were even more reluctant to ask because they were given proof after proof of how much trouble Frankenstein went to for their sakes, not expecting or even wanting their gratitude.

They finally stepped close enough for the door to slide open.

Tao waved to them from an examination table. Frankenstein half-turned to nod to them, sitting on one of the picnic table chairs he must have moved over next to the examination table and holding a book. "This book is hilarious!" Tao told them.

"I thought you'd like these," Frankenstein said with some satisfaction. "They were written by a logic professor, and you know quite a lot of logic."

Takeo was a little boggled, but M-21 was the one to ask, "Tao?" Tao, _logic?_

"Computer science requires logic," Boss explained. "The other half of the humor is social commentary on a very toxic, classist society that had no regard for the real thoughts and needs of children." He looked at the book thoughtfully. "It's a pity that many people these days miss the references and think it's is relying on ridiculousness and randomness for humor. Or perhaps it's a good thing." He held up the cover for them to see.

"Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass?" Takeo frowned. There was something about the title of the book that rang a bell.

"I asked Boss for a bedtime story," Tao said, grinning widely. "It's about someone who ends up in a world where things are strange and nothing seems to make any sense."

"The world she came from also nonsense – it just tried to pretend that its lies were eminently logical truth," Frankenstein reminded him.

 _Oh,_ Takeo realized, before he could get a word in edgewise on Tao asking a scientist for a bedtime story when he would be stuck with them in their lab until the tests were complete. That kind of backtalk… At least, it was deadly backtalk in the world they came from.

Here, Tao might even have done it as a favor. Because Frankenstein knew it bothered them to be in a lab without any distractions, and that bothered _him_. So Tao giving Frankenstein something he could do to distract Tao, to prove to him that what he wanted still mattered, even in a lab? Takeo wanted to attribute it to Tao needling people, always taking risks by provoking them, wanted to frown at Tao for putting himself in danger, but…

It wasn't danger, here. Just a small act of consideration. The kind that was deadly weakness in the Union for what they claimed where self-evident reasons (and Takeo was a fool for thinking it was possible to spare anyone) but so clearly the right thing to do here. Two different logics, two different worlds.

And this world, Takeo thought, was where he'd belonged, all along. The world he'd lived in, the world they'd _all_ lived in before the Union stole them away.

So, "Do you mind if we stay and listen?" he asked, smiling, and not because Tao was a comrade and Takeo didn't want to leave him alone in a lab. Because he wanted to, and he was sure M-21 felt the same.

"Of course you may," the houseowner said, sounding pleased.

Takeo didn't understand much of the story, or half of why Tao was laughing when he did, but he thought that Alice was brave, pointing out that people weren't making any sense or standing her ground when people said that she was a weak child and therefore she was automatically wrong. But she kept questioning people who were older and stronger than her.

No wonder Frankenstein thought this story would be a good example for them.

* * *

 _Alice in Wonderland has a lot more literary merit than people give it credit for. In terms of intellectual humor and social commentary it has a lot of Pratchett vibes, really - the one time I ever felt really disappointed by PTerry was reading he regarded Alice as an example of LOLrandom humor, when... no. Lewis Carroll did a pretty good job capturing how a child would actually act, but this means that Alice is often inexcusably rude by Victorian standards and that's kind of a big deal._

 _The fact that 'being a child' is treated as bad and wrong in a society that supposedly valued childhood innocence to the point nudes of children would be put on Christmas cards is definitely among the points the books are trying to make._

 _Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson was probably not a pedophile – he did have relationships with adult women, which his family covered up to preserve his reputation. Of course, there_ was _a plague of pedophilia in Victorian England, made easier by the fact that 'children were supposed to be seen and not heard' not to mention classism 'things like that don't happen among people of good breeding.' Still, the fact that the children in his work are acting like_ children _instead of the period's fetishized version of childhood does indicate that 1. When he looked at children he was studying them as people instead of them-as-objects (focusing on them instead of what he wanted out of them) and 2. They felt comfortable enough around him to act like themselves even though they would have been used to being_ punished _for acting like themselves, implying that they weren't scared of him/he wasn't (as) abusive (as their parents…)._

 _An annotated version of the Alice books is really interesting reading._


	5. Serious Cuisine

_This is written for the Valentine's Noblesse fic posting day on Tumblr – posted here a bit early to remind people of the event/advertise for it._

* * *

"Now that you are done with the dishes," M-21 and Takeo heard from behind them.

They carefully turned, avoiding dripping any suds on the floor as they removed their rubber gloves, to see Frankenstein standing there, sparkling as happily as he had when he was able to evict the KSA from his school and get those people who _dared_ threaten them on his watch the hell away from his students without blowing his cover.

"Would you be willing to come down to the lab and help with an experiment?"

As they watched, his smile only intensified.

M-21 wondered if there really was an 'I know something you don't know' aspect to all that good cheer, or if it was only his mind looking for an excuse for why the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end.

Then he remembered, watching that smile, that Frankenstein _knew_ he was scary and had a lot of time to get very good at it.

"Of course," Takeo said, untying the back of his pink apron.

A flicker of a frown on Frankenstein's face, there and gone to be replaced by that smile again. Wincing, M-21 hoped Takeo hadn't set himself up for a lesson in reading the fine print, or worse, that he didn't _have_ to do things just because the houseowner asked him to do them.

"Sure," M-21 said, to give him back-up.

"Come to the testing room when you're ready, then," Frankenstein told them, and turned to leave the kitchen as M-21 took off his apron, good cheer entirely returned.

Hanging up his apron, M-21 heard Frankenstein ask Regis if he would be willing to help with the experiment when he was done cleaning.

Stepping out into the main room, M-21 was in time to see Regis tilt his head at the houseowner, puzzled he was even asking. Regis had stopped what he was doing to give the person speaking to him his full attention, but Frankenstein frowned at the crumbs on the floor and Regis hurried to brush the rest of them into the dustpan, knowing that they bothered the houseowner and cleaning was Regis' duty.

So was this experiment RK-related? Remembering their training on the island, M-21 knew he should be worried, but if this was something that would make them stronger, that would be a good thing.

Frankenstein's smile down at the back of Regis' head grew more diabolical for a moment – he definitely liked making the nobles do chores. Well, Regis anyway. Not his Master, and Seira just did whatever needed doing, which Frankenstein _approved_ of, obviously, but probably meant there wasn't fun in it.

"Once you're done tidying up," Frankenstein said, and Regis nodded. As Takeo followed M-21 into the living room, Frankenstein asked them, "Would you mind asking Tao to come participate?"

Takeo smiled and nodded, heading for the stairs. M-21 went with him.

* * *

"Do you think it's more ramyeon?" Tao asked as he turned back to his console, fingers and cables racing to finish up whatever he was working on. He'd raced up here after Shinwoo and the others left, clinging to the wall for a moment to move past Miss Seira in the hallway.

M-21 snorted.

Takeo looked at him, but, "If it was ramyeon again, I don't think he would ask as though it was an entirely new experiment?" although Takeo seemed a little doubtful, knowing how unpredictable Frankenstein tried to be.

"He asked Regis," M-21 said.

"Well, that would still make sense," Tao said. "The ramyeon is for _him_ after all, and _he's_ a noble. He'd get a lot better data having Regis and Miss Seira taste-test his recipes for him than enhanced humans like us."

Takeo frowned.

"I didn't catch it at first either, Takeo," Tao said without turning around, "but yeah, he should _totally_ have made Regis do it too. And if Regis was doing it, then Miss Seira would have too, because she's little Regis' adult supervision and couldn't let someone experiment on the kid without making sure it was okay, right? But the point was – well, of course making _him_ the best ramyeon was important to Boss too, but he was _also_ trying to feed us up."

"Why?" Takeo asked, puzzled. "I know he feels that communal eating is important, but… I suppose it was a bonding experience."

M-21 had to agree, remembering Takeo and Tao insist in joining whatever experiments M-21 was subjected to. Even though M-21 knew when they did that that it was just ramyeon, it was still touching, not just funny.

He'd agreed to those experiments not knowing that it was ramyeon. When the houseowner asked him to come down for testing he'd gone thinking the other shoe had just dropped and steeling himself to find out how bad it was, only to find out that it was just food. Nothing to do with M-21 or hurting him, just Frankenstein's obsessive perfectionism when it came to his Master. That made it safe.

"Right, that too!" Tao said, as though just realizing it, "but we had the D toxin built up in our systems, remember? And back then we definitely didn't trust them enough to let him give us pills, forget putting us in tubes for a proper detox, right? But we were eating so much ramyeon that a lot of it went right through us, and the human body uses sweat and wastes to get rid of toxins. The diets we were on at the Union also kept our cellular metabolisms down, because they didn't want the natural human healing factor and immune system trying to interfere with what they were doing to us. They wanted to keep our human bodies too sick to fight back. Then all of a sudden our bodies got a ton of energy, and they weren't used to getting fat so some of the _oil_ went right through us, when normally the human body grabs all the fat it can get, and the D toxin's fat-soluble. The Union made us ignore it when our bodies wanted food, water and sleep, so the Boss was trying to get us used to regular meals and schedules. This was in the treatment plans he gave us before he went to Lukedonia," Tao added, finally noticing M-21 and Takeo's stares.

"He knew we didn't trust him enough to let him remove the poison, so he was trying to let us survive it on our own…" Takeo frowned, thoughtful and focused. "The substitute D he made us… I was surprised he gave us something like that. What if we ran off with it? The Union might have made allowances if we came back with data from someone outside the Union practicing human enhancement." Turned Frankenstein in for what, for the chance to keep helping 'Teira?'

Yeah, M-21 had to admit. He hadn't trusted these people when he found himself here either. He didn't even have to ask himself what he would have done for a chance to save M-24, if he'd been dumb enough to think the Union would ever save trash like them.

Tao snorted. "Why bargain with us when they could interrogate? That 'noblesse' we fought on one of the DA-5's fake missions," all the people they'd been ordered to kill, so many of them nothing but set-ups for testing, "can't have been real, there's an SOP for what happens if Union test subjects make contact with a noble. We might have been Dr. Aris' pet project, but that just meant her enemies would have made sure we were liquidated properly. Nobles have mind control powers, and I don't think it's coincidence that low-ranked Union agents can't hold off mind-control that well. I bet the nobles in the Union wanted to make sure that _they_ could control us, but that means they know that other nobles _could_ control us if that was the kind of thing they did."

"Rael," M-21 reminded him.

Tao and Takeo nodded.

"I kind of hope the Kertia _are_ using mind-control to get intel from the Union, you know?" Tao mused. "If they don't remember, then the Union can't get it out of them," it would put them in a lot less danger, "and getting even a chance to do something that might hurt the Union…"

"Their intel isn't good," Takeo pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything," Tao reminded him. "We weren't… well, they told us we weren't cannon fodder, and what did we know about what was _really_ happening at the Union? Noble traitors? Werewolves? But Regis' dad was in charge of trying to keep the Union in check without going beyond what nobles are supposed to do to interfere with humans until a century ago," when he let them kill him rather than let humans be slaughtered, "and there's no way Gramps' kid would do something like that. Not unless it was what we _wanted_ , but we'd have to learn we could trust them first." In the Union you learned not to trust anybody or it killed you, "and in that time the Union'd realize something was up."

They would have tried to get people away from the Union, but M-21 remembered him and M-24, the suppressants… "We're keeping Frankenstein waiting," he said, hands in his pockets.

* * *

"Ah good, you're here. Come in, come in," Frankenstein greeted them when they came down to the lab. The door to the taste-testing room was open, M-21 saw with a bit of relief even though he'd guessed it.

Frankenstein was still beaming. Herded along by the force of his good cheer, they went in to see Regis already sitting at the picnic table, and Frankenstein's Master sitting in a lone chair with a cup of tea. M-21 figured he was there to supervise things, the way he had the first few times the enhanced humans needed to go down to the lab. M-21 remembered the first time Raizel had decided that Frankenstein was being too scary and just sighed.

This time, Raizel had a napkin tucked in to his neck like Regis, though?

The counter that normally held the ramyeon was covered in small plates covered with white napkins.

Sitting down, taking their own napkins, Tao was the one to ask Frankenstein, "What are we trying for you?"

Frankenstein just _beamed_ , looking as though he'd been waiting for them to ask. "It's not for me." He turned to the door. "Miss Seira, if you would?"

The clan leader walked in, wearing a correctly-sized white lab coat over her school uniform, and holding a tape recorder to her mouth. "Year 2010." She went on to give the month and the day with perfect poise as Regis let out a noise of utter confusion. "Experiment Number 001. This experiment is designed to gather preliminary data on how the personal preferences of the test subjects affect the results, so future experiments can be designed to offset the limitations imposed by a small sample pool, insofar as that is possible."

As she spoke, Frankenstein was picking up plates and putting them in front of the RK. Handing a final plate to his master, he whisked off the cover to reveal a small, rounded brown rectangle.

M-21's nose wrinkled, looking down at the plate in front of him and scenting the air in the room.

Chocolate?

Tao gasped, interrupting Seira's recording. "Miss Seira's making Valentine's chocolates?"

Clicking off the recorders, she sighed. "My housekeeping teacher suggested longer-term trials," standing behind her, Frankenstein beamed proudly, "but Rael has only now returned to Lukedonia." And Seira wouldn't want to encourage her hopefully-former stalker by letting him think she was making chocolates for _him_.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Tao wanted to know, pulling the cover off his piece of chocolate.

Seira held up the questionnaires pointedly, then raised the recorder to her mouth again with her other hand.

"I'll pass them out while you record their consent to participate in the experiment and read them the directions," Frankenstein said, hurrying over as Seira nodded sagely and clicked the tape recorder back on.

* * *

 _Yessss, come to the science side of the force, Seira… Frankenstein is a proud papa._

 _I was studying statistics when the health issues hit, so there's a lot of This Is Not How You Obtain Valid Data in not just the Union's procedures in Noblesse – unless the data you're trying to get is those individuals' personal preferences, of course._

 _But like, you wouldn't experiment on enhanced humans to try to learn about the taste buds and preferences of a member of an entirely different species, so I'm a lot more comfortable with an ulterior motive for the ramyeon experiments (Frankenstein aside, because he might have used the link to compare his tastes to Rai's)._

 _I'm just going to assume that Ye Ran's science classes at least give the basics of How To Not Screw Up Your Experiment So Now Your Data Is No Better Than If You Made It All Up – and that Frankenstein wouldn't teach Seira bad habits – so._


	6. None of This Nonsense Please

_An-earl requested a conversation between Rai and Frankenstein after ep. 450. There was probably supposed to be angst, but Raskreia happened to it._

 _The title is from Morwen's sign in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles series by Patricia C. Wrede._

* * *

Heedless of Raskreia, Frankenstein rushed forward, reaching to his hip only to realize his pockets weren't intact. With a flicker of power he materialized his elegant battle uniform, but Raizel raised a hand before Frankenstein's hand could reach Rai's face.

Frankenstein paused, holding the handkerchief he'd taken from his pocket. "You shouldn't worry about me, Frankenstein."

Raskreia's first impulse was to point out how that was obviously wrong - Rai was very worrying. She was glad that he didn't live on Lukedonia and was Frankenstein's problem - but not as glad as she was that Frankenstein wasn't a noble and was therefore not her problem at all.

"Master… I can remove the stain," Frankenstein, twitching as he watched the blood trail down Raizel's face. Blue eyes (human, not rebel noble) dropped to the wound in Raizel's side for a second before flinching back up to the blood on his face, wanting to clean that at least.

"Lord, he… dispatched Ignes Kravei with that weapon of his," Kei Ru reported,glancing at the two of them and clearly feeling his words were intruding but it was something Raskreia needed to know.

She reassured him of that with a nod before turning back to where Frankenstein was giving Raizel an increasingly beseeching look and Raizel had begun to smile apolgetically. "Frankenstein… M-21 still needs your worry. It is too late for…"

Before he could finish that statement, Raskreia drew Ragnarok and hit the top of his head with the flat of the blade.

This time, Frankenstein caught him as he fell.

Rael looked terrified - good, the brat needed to learn some respect for nobles who took the form of women. She would have been puzzled about how her father got such ideas about men when he was a man himself if it wasn't for her unfortunate exposure to Rael Kertia.

"Well, at least Sis didn't stab him this time?" Karias 'whispered' to Kei.

Frowning, Raskreia began contemplating stabbing someone other than Cadis Etrama di Raizel. "Rael Kertia."

He drew himself up ramrod straight. "Yes Lord?" he asked, clearly scared.

"Carry the Noblesse home. Karias, escort him," she added, before he did something else to tempt her.

There, she thought as they ran off. Now all three of the idiots she was responsible for were gone, and she could get back to finding more werewolves and hoping _they_ were idiotic enough to attack her. Her father had been escorted to eternal sleep by the loyal clan leaders; she was uncertain how many werewolves it would take to provide a suitable escort for Rajak, but thus far every werewolf they'd encountered here had been kind enough to volunteer to join the clan leader in eternal sleep.


	7. A Small Noblesse Fluff

_A Literal Noblesse Fluff – (Don't worry about the first few lines, I promise!)_

 _This is in thanks to an-earl, Pandora-twists and whatevaifeellike of tumblr, who wrote Noblesse fluff when we were very in need of it._

* * *

"Frankenstein…" Pools of red where once were eyes tried to at least turn to face him. A dreadful hacking cough, and another. "I'm sorry I will no longer be able to… protect the home…"

"No, Master, no, don't try to talk!" Frankenstein tried to channel everything he could through their link, desperate to hold that fleeting soul together, and yet a flash of heat hot enough to burn even an enhanced human, and before Frankenstein's eyes grew back he felt something drip down between his hands.

He took a ragged breath, then another, clawing at empty air. His burned throat let out a whimper.

The scent of blood still hung in the air, scorched flesh and earth from the blast when the last of the Noblesse's power escaped a broken body.

Curling up on himself, Frankenstein keened, too lost and despairing to care that his clothes hadn't survived the blast, or to care about the series of quiet cracking sounds in front of him.

Until something bumped against the top of his head.

Too light to be someone's touch, and Frankenstein couldn't sense any unfamiliar auras either, only the fading sense of his Master. Some of the ash, blown by the wind? It said something about how incurious he was that he only wondered at the cause the second time it happened. Then it happened a third time, and then it stopped for a moment.

Frankenstein's shoulders almost relaxed, because he didn't want to deal with anything right now, he needed to curl up and sob and hope that he could pull himself together before the children got here enough to, to make some provision for them, or…

A harder touch this time. Not by much by an enhanced humans standards' true. Whatever it was was small and light.

Almost the same span of time, and then again. Frankenstein grit his teeth with the familiar feeling of grief sublimating into rage. Crushing whatever was bothering him – a leaf? – wouldn't be a blow struck at the _bastards_ behind the loss of his dearest Master, but he still managed to choke back a sob into a hiss, and finally notice the peeping.

A small red chick, entire body still damp from the egg, ugly and disheveled, was charging at him, wing-stubs flapping in an attempt to gain speed. Knocking into his forearm made it fall down, where it waved its stubs up at him, peeping, before tucking ungainly little claws under it.

Was this… His Master's emblem was the phoenix, but… had the child _imprinted_ on him?

Was this normal for noble children? Probably not, no, his Master was anything but normal unless Frankenstein made the effort to give him a normal life, but… now the chick was racing around scratching at the scorched earth. In Korean.

Why are you so sad Franken? I am sure you will be able to protect the children.

The bird peeped up at him… encouragingly?

"Master?" Frankenstein asked, after swallowing, trying to hide his desperation.

There. That dip of the head. Feathered, wet and dirty from getting knocked down and rolling around in the ash, but still. That sigh. At Frankenstein's insistence on calling him 'Master' even when Master was a small bird and their contract had burned in those flames.

Their contract.

He almost ignored the nod of that small head, because there was a way to be sure. To have their bond back, when he'd thought it lost forever!

Frankenstein put his hand on the ground, palm up, and before Master could climb on tapped the center of it with a finger. Blood welled up.

The little chick (still dirty, and Frankenstein _needed_ to fix that next) jumped on to his fingers and regarded the blood for a moment with distaste, head cocked to the side. Nobles didn't _like_ to drink blood, but if this would reassure Frankenstein, surely Master would give in… unless he was worried that he was so fragile in this form, and how the loss of a contract twice might affect Frankenstein…

Seeing the distress on his face, Master drank. Yes. It was him. Frankenstein was the one to let out a sigh now, of relief, and brush a hand over the wet feathered head….

Cold! His master was so cold. "Making you run around like this… Master, I deserve to die!" he wailed, and cupped his hand around the small, shivering bird, holding him to his chest. Master needed to be warm and dry, _now_. A tiny chick like this didn't have much body mass: without his feathers fluffed out to hold in warmth, Master must have been so cold, and yet all he cared about was Frankenstein's distress!

Ignoring the fact that distress when his Master was thought dead was entirely natural, Frankenstein began to gently rub his small Master, using the power that made and reshaped clothing to clean the fluid from his Master's tiny body.

He could sense that his Master thought he was fine and Frankenstein was just fussing, but Frankenstein didn't _want_ to tell him how fragile young birds were, and if Master didn't even have enough power to keep himself clean! Dying of exposure really could be a danger to him in this vulnerable state, and Master would never have realized the possibility until he collapsed from the cold. Why would such a thing occur to a noble?

By the time the children arrived – who were _not_ supposed to be here, but Frankenstein was a genius, so he had eventually figured out why karma cursed him to have children who did not listen – Frankenstein had Master's crimson feathers fluffed up properly, and Master's aura had recovered enough, with the help of their contract, that the looks in the children's eyes weren't despairing. The nobles must have sensed that Raizel's aura still existed, only weakened.

Now there was distress in their eyes again, Tao's head darting around, seeing a kneeling Boss and no Boss' Master.

Frankenstein gave them a smile, tired but real, before they could grow too worried. They knew he wouldn't smile like that unless Raizel was safe.

Also the chick in his hands was struggling to get loose, so Frankenstein lowered him to the ground so he could run up to Tao.

"Master is fine," he said, while the children were still speechless. Unless you counted Regis, Tao and M-21's rather expressive features. "He no longer has the power of a Noblesse, or much power at all." Except, of course, that the contract gave him access to _Frankenstein's_ power, which would be a nasty surprise to anyone _deserving_ enough to attack a baby bird, but Frankenstein digressed. Even if showing a fanged expression did seem to help reassure the children that things were back to normal.

The other children looked at the two nobles – Regis looked at Seira, who sighed as though she needed to apologize for her ignorance. Seira might be the smartest, most observant noble Frankenstein had ever met aside from the Lord and her parent, but she hadn't even known of the existence of the Noblesse until that trip to Lukedonia. She could be excused for not understanding their meta-biology.

"So were you…" M-21 started to ask.

"No!" Regis interrupted, knowing the general outline of M-21's question.

"So if _he_ is okay, and won't be using his power and getting sick anymore," Tao started to say, and Frankenstein wondered when the 'but' was coming, "What's that?" he asked, pointing up.

Well. Now Frankenstein felt horribly unobservant, not noticing the giant egg hanging in midair thousands of feet up. He'd assumed the flickering red light was coming from the more natural fires set during this attack. He supposed he could be excused when Master's death and fragile state distracted him, but he did not like being caught off guard.

At least by the way Master was sitting down on Takeo's foot, adjusting his feathers to be sure they were properly poofed up, he didn't see any need to be concerned.

* * *

 _Option 1 – baby Noblesse. Option 2 – Rai's brother was sealed and the seal just broke due to Rai no longer having the strength to maintain it, leading to panicked chick pushing at people's ankles to get them to run away, but the goal of this was literal Noblesse fluff, with a small fluffy Noblesse. I might have failed at PWP, but that level of plot is not allowed lest this become another epic._

 _Or is this even fluff? I do tend to have the tone of pieces switch around on me a lot, which is an asset when writing Noblesse because it's common in the original, but…_


	8. A Small Human

_Posted for Madame Azzure's Noblesse Summer Event Number 26, Delirious_

 _M-21 probably wouldn't know the myths about eating fairy food. Raizel's behavior when they invade the base with M-21 in Season 1 makes perfect sense if he's reading M-21's mind. I doubt he does that normally - well, except with people he's supposed to be judging... - but Rai was kind of doing this for M-21 and trying to get M-21 out of it safe and feeling better, so he may have done it to be sure he didn't mess up._

 _This fic idea has been done but it was adorable so I'm doing it again._

 _Kurasaika of tumblr drew lovely art for this fic and graciously gave me permission to use it as a cover image for the collection! I thank them very much._

* * *

Raizel, Seira and Rael were all standing there with blushes of varying shades on their cheeks, although Rael was the only one whose eyes were wide with near-panic.

Regis had one of his 'what' expressions on, so no help there. Ignoring Tao's babbling, M-21 looked at Karias as the older... no, younger than Raizel noble came in, paled and managed to duck and weave all gracefully through Tao's happily lashing wires to grab the child Tao was cooing over.

Frankenstein's disgruntled expression sharpened, but he was pleased when Karias put him down. Then he went right over to Raizel, and tugged on his shirt sleeve.

Raizel just stared down at him.

The child... child Frankenstein tugged again, then cupped a hand around his mouth and whispered to Raizel, "You're supposed to pick me up."

Looking grateful, Raizel did so. Frankenstein looked very pleased with himself... once he got Raizel to hold him the way Frankenstein wanted, at least. Then he frowned thoughtfully. "I don't like being touched," he said, glaring across the room at Tao. "You should keep holding me, though," he quickly ordered Raizel, before Raizel got any ideas about putting him down. Pressed against Raizel's chest, he looked around the room curiously. "Are those cookies?"

Raizel went to sit down in his usual seat, and Frankenstein leaned out enough to grab one of the cookies from Raizel's plate before pulling back, munching as he looked around the room. "Why do you have red eyes?" he wondered. " _He_ has red eyes, so you can't be demons."

Tao perked up - that was his pronunciation of 'he' when he was referring to Raizel? Maybe he thought it was a sign Boss remembered him.

Seira put another cup of tea down by Raizel. "We are nobles," she told him.

"I knew _that,"_ Frankenstein said, as though it was totally obvious. "Are you fairy nobles?"

Seira blinked.

"So I'm speaking fairy?" Frankenstein wondered, and that was when M-21 realized that he was speaking Korean, which he couldn't have known when he was a kid, right? Then the kid looked at the cookie, worried it was drugged or something? But the kid shrugged and kept eating it.

"Sir Raizel?" Seira asked.

Raizel sighed and shrugged. Helplessly? Apologetically? 'Frankenstein is Frankenstein,' seemed to be the sentiment.

The puppy squeezed around Takeo to paw at Raizel's feet, probably trying to get up on them so he could reach the strange small Boss. Frankenstein reached down, picked the puppy up, sniffed him and put him on his lap, looking satisfied, while the puppy sniffed him back. So even a little Frankenstein wanted things clean?

"Did Dark Spear rip his memories out?" Tao was worried enough to ask Raizel.

The Noblesse shook his head: yeah, he had mind powers, so he might know.

"I'm fine," Frankenstein said, frowning and leaning back against Raizel a bit more in case the grabby person tried again.

"But you're tiny and you don't remember me, Boss!" Tao mimed distress dramatically enough that M-21 forgot his own worry for a moment. Tao probably didn't want Frankenstein to worry, or think Tao was really hurt he'd forgotten them.

"If I'm the Boss, then listen to me when I say I'm fine."

M-21 snorted. The guy who checked all of them over while his blood dripped on the floor? No way.

Frankenstein ignored him instead of commenting, turning to tug at the fabric on Raizel's shoulder. "I want a nap."

Raizel nodded, standing and heading for the upstairs.

"Well… _he_ seems to know what's going on?" Tao remarked.

"He wouldn't be so calm if the houseowner was in danger, surely." Regis nodded, reassured by Sir Raizel's elegance.

Seira agreed, turning away from the stairs with a sigh a bit like Raizel's – certain there were shenanigans occurring, but disapproving almost in an obligatory fashion. Well, they all knew that Frankenstein didn't care if nobles disapproved, so it certainly wasn't worth the effort to disapprove very hard.

* * *

Raizel came down two hours later, carrying Frankenstein again. He set down the child when prompted, and Frankenstein made a beeline for the plate of cookies, then waited for Raizel to sit down before climbing into his lap and continuing to munch.

Rael brought one cup of tea, for Raizel, and seemed to untense when he was greeted with a nod.

"Hello!" Karias said cheerfully, and handed Frankenstein a rose, after carefully snapping the thorns off.

Frankenstein took it happily, sniffing it, holding it up for Raizel to smell, and then turning it over in his hands. "It's so big!"

"It's for your mother," Karias smiled. "I'm sure she'd want you to have it, so I'm giving it to you for her."

Frankenstein seemed pleased, and grinned after a bit. Had he decided he liked the funny man? _For now_.

Raizel's head turned suddenly: Seira had set a bowl of ramyeon down on the table.

Was he looking at Frankenstein pleadingly? Blue eyes blinked up at Raizel. "You want to go eat?" Frankenstein nodded. "I'll take the cookies." He clambered off Raizel's lap, carrying his plate and Karias' rose. He practically ran over to the table, then stood there waiting for Raizel to sit down.

Raizel did, and after Frankenstein was seated in his lap again began to wait for the food to increase while Frankenstein munched his cookies, plate held in his lap.

"There is a second bowl of ramyeon," Seira remarked, setting it down close to Raizel.

Takeo might have thought she'd made comfort food for Raizel, even if neither of the… less excitable nobles seemed to be acting like Raizel was in need of comfort or Frankenstein was in any danger despite the extraction of Dark Spear.

Really, with Dark Spear gone, Frankenstein was in less danger than usual, true. Unless he was attacked now that he lacked a soul weapon? That risk made it a very good thing that he was sticking so close to Raizel.

But the second bowl was small, and she set out a spoon and knife instead of chopsticks or even a fork.

With a look at his own bowl to check if the noodles had expanded 'enough' (too much) yet, Raizel _pushed his bowl of Ramyeon away_ to pull the small bowl close to the edge of the table. Then he looked down at Frankenstein to see what he would do.

Frankenstein smiled. "I should drink something, and soup is good!" he assured Raizel. "Thank you, fairy lady!"

Seira nodded, looking quietly very pleased. Karias fell over dramatically. Had he just… swooned?

Eyes that seemed bigger in a small face blinked and Frankenstein leaned up to get closer to Raizel's ear. "Is the flower fairy sick?" he whispered, not knowing that everyone in the room could hear him.

Raizel let out the sigh that should have communicated that everything was fine except that people were being typically insane, but Frankenstein had already turned away. "You can have my cookies, flower fairy!" He told Karias excitedly. "And there's sugar in the herbal drink, so it's kind of like nectar!"

Takeo blinked. He supposed this meant that Frankenstein was still himself, if he was still trying to doctor people, but did he think Karias was a bee?

This time, all the nobles were looking stunned, even Regis. Raizel was the first to recover, patting Frankenstein on the shoulder – probably to reassure him that Karias would be alright. Regis' eyes widened in realization and he snapped a photo and started to write a text. Karias made a beeline for the table to sit by Raizel's right and pick up a cookie, sparkling at the child. Tao approached from the left, doing the same. "Miniboss is so cute!"

Seira, Rael and Regis nodded, then blushes appeared or deepened. Right, nobles couldn't state the obvious – it was being noisy – but they seemed to find Frankenstein overwhelmingly cute. Cuter than Takeo did: not that he wasn't touched by the small Frankenstein wanting to take care of someone so much stronger than he was while he was so vulnerable, but Frankenstein's self-possession and using Raizel as furniture helped reassure Takeo's protective impulses that the kid would be fine.

M-21 was the one to bring the tea: Takeo wondered if Seira had gotten his attention and gestured at the tea so M-21 had something to do.

Frankenstein regally ignored Takeo calling him cute and picked up the knife. Takeo frowned – should Seira have given a child a knife that sharp, Boss or not? He seemed to know how to use it in place of a fork, though, spearing some of the ingredients out of the soup to eat them. He didn't splash or spill the soup even though he was hurrying to drink it down, glancing up at Raizel who was looking longingly at his own ramyeon.

Seira looked over Raizel's shoulder.

"I like it, fairy lady!" Frankenstein answered the question Seira couldn't come out and ask. "It has lots of garlic!"

Takeo could see Seira filing away that at least this version of her housekeeping teacher liked garlic and strong flavors as Frankenstein reached up to hand her his bowl and utensils, then slide Raizel's bowl back in front of him. Then Frankenstein settled back and looked disinclined to move, despite Raizel's glance down at him. It seemed as though Raizel would just have to eat around him.

Which Raizel did, quite elegantly of course.

"So, Miniboss." Tao leaned forward, elbows on the table. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A wife," Frankenstein said. "We'll have a big manor or maybe a castle and I can design all the clothes and tell people to keep it clean and have everything just the way I want it." He nodded firmly.

"A wife?" Tao wasn't stupid enough to insult what even Miniboss wanted to do, but…

"Mother is teaching me how to make clothing and fix looms and do the maths for making patterns and keeping the accounts and making sure we have supplies for sieges and she's already letting me work in the stillroom with her!" Frankenstein leaned towards Tao when he said that, excited enough to lose track of Raizel's arm for a moment. Thankfully, Raizel managed to avoid spilling. "Father says that if I can make beer and wine as good as Mother's that's all I'll need to get any husband I want, but I want to know how to do _everything_ so I don't have to have someone else running _my_ house."

If having things ruined, dirty or out of place still ruined Frankenstein after he'd had centuries to mature, how much did they bother a young version? Enough for his life's ambition to be in a position to make everything shipshape, it seemed.

He hadn't been able to do that. Perhaps when he grew older his ambitions would grow larger: was it meaningless to have one small place that was right when the world was wrong?

Frankenstein had said 'we,' but no one asked if his spouse would have a say. This was Frankenstein, and he probably would have married someone like Raizel, who might love picking from near-identical, Frankenstein-approved uniforms, but froze when Suyi decided that dressing him up would be a fun day out with Yuna and Seira and a chance to teach Seira something about color coordination since it was a crime that someone that pretty knew absolutely nothing about fashion.

"What kind of husband are you looking for?" Tao asked, because he was a _madman_. Takeo's breath caught in his throat as he prayed that Frankenstein wouldn't give a response that he saw as an offense against Raizel when he got his memories back.

"He's pretty," Frankenstein said, pointing up at Raizel, "but we can't get married now, I have to make the blankets and everything to go in my dower chest first, and earn enough to get the metal parts for at _least_ three looms and maybe a tapestry loom and enough money to get the stillroom equipment made wherever I go to live so it doesn't break when I go there. I have to pay Mother back for the materials I use to make things too, because it's to manage money and supplies and things. We can still get engaged, though! And you can come live with us like my brothers' fiancées!. I'll be the best wife, you'll see, I'll make lots of everything so all the landless knights and mercenaries want to work for us," Frankenstein told Raizel earnestly. "And we'll get all the fosterlings because everyone will want their daughters to learn from me and that means no one will dare attack your people ever because we'll have an army and allies and hostages."

Tao and Takeo looked at each other. Then at Regis and Seira, young noble clan leaders learning from Frankenstein.

… _Had_ Frankenstein really given up on his childhood dream? Really? Takeo should have known that of course he hadn't. That wouldn't be like him at all.

Something else was strange: Frankenstein trying to convince Raizel of something?

Raizel might have realized that too, from the way he responded to Frankenstein looking at him with big blue eyes by patting him on the shoulder. Frankenstein sank back down, relieved. Then he looked up again. "You're a fairy so you don't mind waiting for me to grow up and get everything ready, right?"

The Noblesse shook his head.

That got him a hug. "I'll make you wonderful things, you'll see!"

Raizel nodded.

No one felt up to having the 'you shouldn't talk about fairies' and who knew what else conversation with even a child version of Frankenstein (not and deal with how he'd react when he came back to himself), but Raizel stayed home from school without prompting. When the children came over, Tao was momentarily taken aback to see Raizel come into the living room without Frankenstein and kept expecting the Miniboss to run in searching for him, but after checking his camera he found Boss in his lab, humming and drawing very straight lines on paper.

"I'm being good!" Frankenstein said cheerfully when Tao came down.

Those words boggled the mind. Boss… _behaving?_ Tao had thought he was always incapable of it, but the young one was lying on the ground on his stomach, kicking his feet in the air and hadn't started trying to get into the lab computers or take things apart to see how they worked? Or, or… He actually felt kind of _disturbed_ that he wasn't having to scramble to prevent explosions. It was against the natural order or something.

Feeling like a great cosmic force here to restore balance, Tao picked Frankenstein up and grinned him. "Let's go make some trouble!"

A delighted grin was his reward.

It was only after Tao picked Miniboss up that he realized he had a problem.

What _was_ Boss-approved trouble? He couldn't let the kid get messy or make a mess in the house, of course. When Tao wanted to play around he messed with people online, but Miniboss was a kid and shouldn't kids be… running around and playing and things? Tao was pretty sure of that after observations of the schoolkids. Normally he could have gone upstairs and crowdsourced an answer from Ikhan and Raizel's other school friends, but letting them see Miniboss would lead to questions, otherwise he was sure _he_ would have wanted them to see how cute Boss was.

Transferring Miniboss to his cables and opening his cellphone, Tao sent out the RK signal.

M-21 came in still wearing his apron, if not the gloves, giving Tao a pointed 'you want us to be slacking off when Boss is _right here?'_ look.

Takeo smiled at the kid, who waved back. At least he didn't seem to mind Tao holding him in his cables. Then Takeo went, " _Tao…"_

"Kids are supposed to run around and play outside! Help me think of something boss-approved for Miniboss!"

Regis looked puzzled. "Laser tag?" Was there some reason Tao had ruled out the obvious thing?

"Of course!" Tao crowed. "Thank you, RK-03! Up, up and away!" Holding Boss over his head, he charged into the elevator.

The others stared after him. "Are we coming too?" M-21 wanted to know.

Tao held down the button to keep the door open with a cable. "Takeo and Sir Karias!" The sniper and the clan leader of sniping should be about Miniboss' speed. "You had the lowest score except _him,_ Regis." Regis folded his arms, absolutely not regretting spending his time trying to coax Sir Raizel to shoot him so he had at least _one_ point instead of racking up a score himself. Hmm, without Regis' and M-21's supply of stubborn, Takeo would stampeded over if Tao, Karias and Miniboss all got Ideas at once. They'd need someone else to rein them in or Boss would be annoyed when he remembered. They needed to walk a fine line between trouble and chaos. "And if you come, Miss Seira, we'll have adult supervision!"

She nodded. "Regis," she said calmly.

"Yes?"

"Sir Raizel's tea."

Regis blinked, realizing that with Boss all mini, Seira out of the house and Tao and Takeo as well (Takeo liked looking after people and Tao was in charge of making the social stuff go well), he would be in charge of making Sir Raizel's tea.

"My housekeeping instructor's guide to how to make tea is filed under tea in the guide cabinet." Seira turned to M-21, who nodded.

"I'll keep Rael out of the kitchen," the modified human/hybrid werewolf promised the noble clan leader.

* * *

Miniboss was terrible at laser tag.

He wasn't Raizel, too overwhelmed to even fire a shot. Instead there were wild enthusiastic bursts of the laser noise that gave away his position even to people without enhanced hearing.

Miniboss was _clumsy_. And _giggled_.

At first, Tao had thought of being on Miniboss' team, but Karias had pointed out that it wasn't fair for his team to have both the snipers and taken charge of the smaller blond once Takeo showed them both how to use the not-actual-lasers. Tao had gone along with it because Karias used to train Regis, and he seemed to know how to deal with small-and-stubborn.

Once Takeo and Karias had realized that Miniboss couldn't hit _any_ side of a barn, and wasn't even trying to be quiet when he snuck up on people, the two of them exchanged looks and Karias took to hanging back a little from Miniboss and sniping whoever MIniboss was loudly failing to hit.

Still, he was doing better than _him!_ Miniboss had managed to hit Takeo. He'd been aiming at Tao, but that was still a point!

To Tao and the others, training was a matter of life and death, and it was hard for them to think of it as a game, although the distinctive setting of laser tag helped. And the toy guns. Raizel's friends didn't see this as training – even Shinwoo, who did train, thought there was a huge difference between loud blinky lights and _real_ training – but they did play to _win_. It was fun to play with Ikhan and strategize, Ikhan determined to take down his opponent (especially if it was Shinwoo, who snored), but without it ever occurring to Ikhan to ignore the rules of the game and deal with Shinwoo permanently.

It took awhile to figure out what Miniboss was doing: when he started laughing – a laugh that was almost creepy for a second because of how creepy it wasn't, a half-shriek of delight from someone who had never even thought of laughing for effect – and not even caring that it was giving away his position was when Tao figured it out.

Miniboss was playing to _play_. He was running around in a place with cool toys, getting to chase and pounce on big people. From his big grin, he was having too much fun to even think about the score or learning how to play better.

Boss was always the best at everything (except board games, when Boss felt it was cheating to figure out the dice and manipulate rolls): it was weird that MIniboss didn't care about excelling even at something like laser tag. Then again, he might be the best here at having fun!

That was when Tao felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Karias dash around a corner as Miniboss jumped over the cover and ran towards Tao, completely failing to be sneaky even with the 'distraction.'

Tao let the child tackle his legs and deliberately fell down to the ground. "Aaaah, he got me!" he declared, flailing dramatically. He was rewarded with a shriek of delight from the child.

Miniboss squeezed his legs - _Snuggle-excited-joy!_ – and then took off running.

…Miniboss was a _telepath_? Or telempath?

Tao had voices in his head pretty often now. This one was a nice change from Dark Spear.

* * *

"You aren't worried?" M-21 asked after the kids had left and they were alone, Raizel in his usual chair and M-21 just finished washing the last round of dishes – Regis was already done picking up after the kids.

Raizel shook his head.

Frankenstein was fine, then. Annoyed, M-21 wanted for a moment to ask what was going on, if Frankenstein was playing around with them and just pretending to be a kid, but as long as his family was okay then the rest wasn't his business.

Miniboss was still enhanced – none of them got tired out, but it seemed wrong to stay until the place closed after hearing Boss talk about how kids, even high school students, needed sleep. Tao let Takeo carry Miniboss over the rooftops. Miss Seira was ahead of them a little, taking point, while Karias was hanging out on the other side of Takeo.

Once they all made it downstairs from the balcony, Tao said, "Miniboss sent me what he was feeling while we were playing laser tag," to Boss' Boss.

Raizel nodded as Takeo put Frankenstein down and the kid headed for Rai's lap.

"Of course an enhanced human child would be noisy." Rael sounded disgusted.

"All of us nobles can do that, we just don't do it that often," Karias said. "Just broadcasting would be way too talkative, and if you use two-way connections, then if you have three people there are three connections. Using it at meetings would be a major headache. Just talking's a lot easier, which is why people should do it a lot more often."

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that, RK-03?" Tao wanted to know.

"You couldn't talk back to me," Regis said, and then Tao could see him realizing that wasn't a bad thing.

 _He_ patted Miniboss on the shoulder consolingly, as he did. "The children are worried," Raizel told the one who actually looked like a little kid, and Tao wondered _which_ children he meant. "Wake up, Frankenstein."

Almost before Tao could realize that the words 'wake up' meant that Raizel might be performing an awakening and that would burn up more of his life, the kid yawned, leaned against Raizel's chest and started to grow. His clothes didn't just grow with him – the t-shirt Takeo had picked out for him after vetoing Tao's choices turned into his usual suit.

Opening his eyes, Boss managed to half-suppress a yawn before frowning at the room, looking as though he was wracking his brain trying to figure out how he'd gotten here. "What on earth could have caused _that?"_ he wondered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You were dreaming," Raizel told him, patting him on the back since that was what was in reach without standing up.

"Hm? Then… _Oh,"_ Frankenstein said, and winced. Frankenstein was rarely embarrassed – Boss made that happen to _other_ people, but he was clearly _thinking_ and Tao didn't want him to regret what happened when he was small? It was nice to see Boss so innocent, so happy, not caring that he was defenseless because he didn't know to be afraid. Tao didn't want him to talk about what just happened like it was a _bad_ thing, as long as he was okay.

"Frankenstein." When Frankenstein turned to him, _he_ said, "Ramyeon."

Tao perked up, wondering if _he_ had read his mind. He didn't mind, if it was _him_.

* * *

 _Going with the Holy Roman Empire as Frankenstein's birthplace. His mother was a prosperous tradeswoman and their father owned enough land to feed the family, but they weren't nobility. The skill set and task list of a lady of a castle - or spouse of the lord - overseeing production of medicines and clothing and supplies, educating other people's children, etc. etc. fits what we see Frankenstein likes to do. The one part of it he grew out of, really, is wanting an actual castle-castle instead of just a large house under his control, full of his people. Not that stone fortifications are a part of keeping his territory safe these days..._


	9. Family Pets 2

_For madameazzure's Noblesse Summer Event Prompt 7, Stay._

 _More of the cats 'verse from the first no-longer-oneshot in this collection. I should probably move these to their own fic..._

* * *

Well, Frankenstein thought, washing his paw. The jig would have been up eventually.

He'd been so pleased about having an excuse to throw the KSA agents out of his school that when Master came into the principal's office flanked by Seira and Regis for mid-morning tea (known to the other members of their class as Physical Education period) he'd walked over to Master, very pleased with himself. Instead of standing by the side of Master's chair, as soon as Master sat down he'd leaned against him to say hello and then transformed in midair, flowing into his proper place on Master's lap.

His ability to transform was supposed to be a secret – used to evade Union pursuit, and more recently to keep the Union enhanced humans company. He must have grown very comfortable in the kids' presence to transform around them, no matter how much he was gloating and wanted his due petting from Master for his cleverness.

"So he's," Tao pointed at Frankenstein, now Orange. "And you're…" Tao had already figured it out. "The other animals are animals, right?"

Raizel nodded, sipping his tea while he held his other hand out for Frankenstein to rub his cheeks against it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Frankenstein could see M-21 looked a little stunned. Takeo was more than a little stunned – he tended to go into shock over some things, it was a good thing it was Tao there and not Takeo when Krans decided to devour his teammates.

"Do you still want us to keep using the laser pointers?" Ah, good, Tao was asking the important questions. Raizel nodded again.

Frankenstein turned back. "I used to transform into some kind of animal to escape pursuit – but I didn't know that pureblood nobles could understand animals as easily as humans until I met Master."

Master nodded. "He used to insult the clan leaders a lot. They came to me to complain."

Seira blinked. "Is that why you were referring to him as Pet Owner on Lukedonia?"

Tao and the others stared at her as Frankenstein's cheeks heated up. "Was I?"

Master nodded, and sighed.

"I'm so sorry Master!" He turned to the children quickly to explain. "Nobles have two sets of vocabulary used to refer to contracts, one set that's used when speaking of contracts with animals, and another when discussing true contracts between nobles and humans. The criminals who made illegal contracts with humans didn't see those humans as equals, and those contracts weren't two-sided, so I didn't know the proper terminology for contracts with humans until the Previous Lord explained it to me." He looked at Seira, wondering, "How did you know that? True contracts haven't been spoken of on Lukedonia in centuries. They didn't want to give the younger generation ideas."

Unfortunately, not telling them how special True Contracts were and how much they should want one had backfired when many of Lukedonia's nobles had gotten the idea that a bond with a human was the same thing as a bond with an animal, and had no idea they were actually _missing out_ by not doing the proper thing and giving the human the power to affect their soul they had in a _True_ Contract.

"Sir Gejutel explained it to us so that we did not accidentally refer to Sir Raizel as a criminal," Seira told him.

"Yes… only the criminals made one-sided contracts with humans. Forgive me Master, I deserve to die!" he wailed, wrapping his arms around his master's neck.

Master patted his back, noble elegance and grace allowing him to handle his tea effortlessly even with a distraught Frankenstein sitting in his lap.  
"Wait," M-21 said, giving Regis a look. "Does this have anything to do with why you were calling him the Houseowner?"

Regis glared at M-21, insulted, while Seira shook his head. "Regis was correct: the Houseowner is in charge of a clan leader's manor."

"Then why are you looking guilty," M-21 wondered, arms folded.  
"I didn't know the principal was the bonded of someone as elegant as Cadis Etrama di Raizel. The one in charge of the clan manor is still subordinate to a clan leader, if they aren't the clan leader themselves."

"So you used the word that meant a guy in charge of the big family house who _wasn't_ a clan leader, since you didn't know Boss had a soul weapon," Tao figured out. "And you thought that was rude because it was implying Boss took orders from someone? But Little Regis was right! Are you psychic – oh right you are." Tao laughed.

"I sometimes slip and use the 'person who takes care of a pet' address for Master," Frankenstein said, putting the conversation back on track, "because I posed as Master's cat for so long. Once I understood the nuances, I had some clan leaders to torment for _daring_ to imply that Master was no better than those criminals…" Before his dark grin could turn into maniacal laughter, Master pressed his nose against Frankenstein's cheek.

He hummed an agreement, deftly catching Master's teacup and straightening in the chair to give Master a proper lap to sit on.

Now the kids were staring at Master – of course they were, Master was exceedingly elegant in any form. Frankenstein couldn't help setting down the teacup and picking Cream up for nuzzles. Master's purr was just so, _so…_

Since he'd been posing as Raizel's cat back then, it was just part of the disguise to herd Raizel over to the couch to pet him, and since Raizel didn't know proper techniques but when asked, told Frankenstein that he should be able to turn into a cat, the most efficient way to teach him was with a demonstration.

Frankenstein was very pleased to have a noble obediently curl up on his lap, and to see that Raizel was unable to respond to his questions about how it felt because of how good it felt. The more he got to know Raizel, the happier it made him to see the noble who suffered his loneliness in silence give in to shameless enjoyment. And in modern terminology Frankenstein was a little touch-starved himself, and being petted in cat form gave him an excuse to be in the room while clan leaders visited, so he'd shamelessly abused the privilege.

It drove Urokai into frothing jealousy the instant someone clued him in.

Fortunately Frankenstein was there to shut down Urokai's offer to pet Raizel the way he'd pre-empted Urokai's attempt to serve him that miserable excuse for tea: he shuddered to think of his Master's lithe form in the hands of that arrogant, clumsy…

Why was he thinking of _Urokai_ when his Master was socute!

He really had gotten used to having the kids around – he didn't even think about transforming into a cat himself and starting to groom Master in front of them, his purr joining Master's.

Purring was good for you – it promoted healing. He knew Master was a noble and it was his soul that was unable to heal, not his cells, but he still purred for all he was worth, for Master's sake.

* * *

Takeo and M-21 looked at each other.

Takeo knew that he should feel tricked. That he should be remembering playing with Cream and his laser sight or Tao showing him that getting a piece of laundry fresh out of the dryer was a good way to get Orange to come sit on his lap and allow Takeo to pet him and feeling manipulated. He'd acted around the first two cats (and the puppy, and the animals adopted to represent Tao, Regis, Seira and Takeo himself) in ways he would have never dared act around two powerful nobles.

Except perhaps Regis. Once he got to know him as more than just the noble who, alongside M-21, kept the children alive long enough for Frankenstein and Raizel to save them.

Or maybe it was just how shamelessly the ever-dignified Noblesse and the terrifying Boss were acting now, not hesitating to curl up and purr even now that all of them knew the secret.

"Oh my god I dangled a feather wand in Boss' face!" Tao cried, but looking over at him Takeo saw that his expression was more _delighted_ than frightened.

Remembering the self-satisfied way Frankenstein stalked and killed things… staying within the limits of a cat instead of drawing on his real powers, willing to play the game with them. Even enjoying it, even though staying within the bounds of what was possible for an unenhanced animal… No, that would have added to the challenge. It wasn't as though it would take him actual effort to destroy something Tao was holding despite Tao's best efforts to play keep-away if he wasn't so restricted.

What was it that was so affecting? That someone do powerful didn't mind letting them think that he was weak, letting them think that he was an inferior animal? That they didn't have to care so much about offending him (although they still had to worry about dirtying the house)? Even as a cat, they hadn't managed to put a dent in Orange's pride. That… was something to aspire to, Takeo thought. In the Union, no one would willingly appear weak, allow others to laugh over their antics without immediate retribution. Frankenstein and Cadis Etrama di Raizel had deliberately taken on forms that weren't terrifying. Cream and Orange didn't mind that the household was staring at them right now.

They hadn't minded when Takeo needed company, after Teira…

Miss Seira walked over, picked up the two cats, and put Cream down on Regis' lap, keeping Orange for herself as she sat down and resumed her tea.

Takeo had stiffened watching that, because just picking up such powerful beings without asking permission? Even if they were allowed to do that before, so was their tacit permission in them being in the form of cats?

Stroking Cream's back, Regis looked a little overwhelmed, but more starry-eyed than terrified, because even this was very, very elegant. The way Cream ignored Regis, letting him do as he liked, not showing gratitude because nobles didn't do things for gratitude, but still making it clear that he was very pleased by what Regis was doing, so it was worth the effort, a proper thing to do?

Huh, Takeo thought, blinking. If Cream was mostly ignoring Regis, then Regis didn't need to worry that he was being intrusive by touching the cat? The noble. The _Noblesse_.

Orange yawned, mouth wide and fangs displayed as Seira scratched him lightly behind his ear, and Takeo remembered Orange falling asleep in sunlit patches. Or on clothes warm from the dryer. Takeo had never seen Cream nap. Nobles didn't have to. The other cat? Orange had fallen asleep in Takeo's lap, as he sat round the living room table playing games with the children. He'd been touched by it, but now that he understood that it wasn't simply a matter of an animal not knowing how much danger it was in, but _Frankenstein_ letting himself be vulnerable among so many people, even Union enhanced humans? Yes, Raizel was there too, and he had glanced over at the cat on Takeo's lap as well as everywhere else, entranced by the people around him, but that was still trusting Takeo. Raizel trusting Takeo with Frankenstein, even when he'd worked with people who kidnapped the children.

* * *

 _He_ had put his paws on M-21's chest, leaning up to lick the tears off M-21's face so no one saw his weakness. It had made M-21 feel both safe and stupid, because he was still crying no matter how quickly the tears vanished, and an animal couldn't protect him.

Raizel could. But at the time M-21 hadn't known that he would, he was alone among strange people who could do anything to him they wanted and there was nothing he could do about it. Just like the Union, except he had M-24 thinking they might be better, that M-21 might have hope at least with them, and he had to stay alive and find the names, for M-24 and everyone's sake.

But he would have been so lonely without the cats, without someone to curl up with.

* * *

"It reminds me of when Frankenstein invaded my home in the middle of the night," Master said later that evening, and Frankenstein stiffened. "He headed right for the clean laundry. I found him curled up on one of my shirts."

He'd taken one of the shirts off the stand and gone looking for pants, but since he was still pantsless when there was a knock at the door, he'd immediately dropped the shirt and tried to act natural.

"I told him that was my shirt, and he ignored me."

Frankenstein _had_ looked at him, but when he was in disguise of course he wasn't going to reveal that he understood Lukedonian.

The noble just looked at him and left, without even trying to pick up the shirt and put it back, or at least in a dirty clothes bin. That meant the noble was used to someone _else_ doing the cleaning up for him, so Frankenstein had gone looking for servants' quarters in search of pants. He'd had no luck whatsoever and was forced to conclude there wasn't a single pair of pants in the entire manor except for the ones Raizel was wearing. This house (and its clothes closets) were far too empty with only one person!

He'd followed the noble's trail to the room with its open window and walked up to him, twining around his legs and making the appropriate noises as he waited for the right moment to knock the noble over, use his power to knock him out and obtain replacement clothing so he could flee Lukedonia.

Frankenstein swallowed, inwardly praying that Master wouldn't tell these kids that Frankenstein had intended to _strip_ him in order to steal his pants.

"You still have my shirt," the noble had said to him then, even though Frankenstein had left the shirt back in the hallway (very glad the building was unnaturally clean – the shirt hadn't picked up any dust from being dragged along the floor).

"Well, if I had my own clothes then I'd be turning back and putting them on instead of going to the trouble of stripping you naked," he'd said – there was no reason not to give the plan away when he was speaking cat. The Central Order Knights had forced him to abandon and destroy his base, and the last shirt to his name was torn to shreds by Ragar and Frankenstein was forced to wrap it, along with his pants, around a rock and throw it off the cliff before he transformed, because they were in such terrible condition he'd have to make – or steal – new ones regardless. Frankenstein had refused to feel guilty about stealing a noble's clothing when nobles were the ones who forced him to run around practically shirtless to begin with.

That was when the fur began to flake off Frankenstein's body, only to reveal not bare skin but _cloth_ , and Frankenstein had found himself standing in front of a noble fully clothed in the same suit he'd worn while fighting and experimenting on Central Order Knights. Had the noble seen through his disguise, known who he was all along?

Instead of confirming that he'd fallen into a trap, the noble had just nodded to see that Frankenstein was properly clothed now and turned back to the window. Frankenstein remained staring at his back until the noble hesitated and turned around to say, "The power that surrounds you: why does it hate you, its wielder?"

This noble could sense Dark Spear? Then had it gotten Frankenstein's preferred clothing (and true form) from reading Frankenstein's mind? "How did you conjure up this clothing?" Frankenstein asked the noble first, because as useful as being able to change his shape to evade nobles and the Union was, having to hide clothing when he transformed and have a source of _something_ to wear on the other end was beyond inconvenient. Could he kidnap this noble for experimentation? No, not with two clan leaders in pursuit. He'd have to take a blood sample, at least.

"You transformed?" the noble asked, as puzzled by the question Frankenstein asked as he was by Dark Spear.

"Then how did you make me transform into a version of me with clothing?" Frankenstein pressed him, before pausing. Looking down at his hand, he turned a bare hand into one covered with a white glove.

So… the entire time, there really was no difference between turning into a feline version of him and a clothed version of him? He'd assumed that clothing being not-him made it a different matter, but fingernails were not living flesh and what were fabrics but products of plants and animals, shaped by human ingenuity?

He _had_ tried it, and it hadn't worked before – perhaps it was a mental block caused by _perceiving_ the clothing as not a part of him, even when he'd made it himself and therefore it was a product of his mind and thoughts to begin with?

The clan leaders!

Quickly, Frankenstein had turned back into a cat, and jumped up onto the windowsill before the two clan leaders came into the room.

"Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel," the clan leaders greeted the noble Frankenstein had found here, and Raizel gave them a nod.

"Due to circumstances, we are pursuing a human," Sir Gejutel said. "He created a great disturbance in the human world and the Lord wished to meet him. I hope he hasn't disturbed you, Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel?"

"Lower your hand for me to sniff – honestly, don't you know anything about animals?" Frankenstein said, still in cat.

Raizel shook his head, holding out his hand for Frankenstein to sniff. Frankenstein deigned to do so, wrinkling his nose at the odd scentlessness of nobles. He'd scent-marked nobles before to keep track of them, so he rubbed his cheeks against Raizel's hand, pleased when the noble recognized the cue to pet him.

Noticing Gejutel looking at him, he stared back, because a cat _could_ look at a clan leader.

The noble coughed, and Frankenstein tried to keep his fur from standing on end when he realized that the noble knew. "Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel, that cat…"

"He lives here," said Sir Raizel. "This house is too empty with only one person."

That made Ragar Kertia nod. "As the Lord said."

"Ah… yes," Gejutel said, giving Ragar a look of resignation and embarrassment before turning back to the manor's owner. "The Lord would like to see the human."

"If I see a human, I will bring him to the Lord when he is well."

Gejutel and Ragar both bowed, told Raizel they would convey his words to the Lord, and left.

Frankenstein cleaned his paw, pleased with himself. It wouldn't be the first time the cute act worked effectively on nobles, with their paternalistic 'protect the weak' attitude that considered all humans weak. Now he just needed to wipe Raizel's memory so he wouldn't recall that the cat was Frankenstein… except Gejutel had also seen right through his disguises. How? "How did he know it was me?" he asked, turning back to his human form sitting on the windowsill.

Raizel withdrew his hand from Frankenstein's thigh, looking puzzled again. Just as with Dark Spear, when the mere fact the question was being posed meant something was very off from how things should be – noble soul weapons were supposed to be born of parental love, no wonder it had bothered di Raizel so much to sense one that hated their host.

"He marked the entire mansion as his territory," he heard Master say in the present day.

Frankenstein's fur stood on end.

"By cleaning it," Raizel added, but only after even _Seira_ had looked at him in shock at the thought of Frankenstein doing something as dirty as how the adopted cats marked territory until he had a word with them.


	10. Rest Well

_This is for Kurasaika of tumblr, who did the adorable cover illustration of_ Thy Daily Ramyeon.

 _They requested something cute with Rai and Franken, then when I asked about a more specific prompt some H/C._

* * *

This was the second time _he_ had come into the lab since they came home from the fight. Tao got the sense that _he_ was a bit miffed that Boss had succeeded in keeping him out of the fight, but Tao was glad! RK finally got to do a good job helping out so _he_ didn't take the field.

But why was _he_ carrying a stack of plates?

The cookie machine beeped, and Raizel started carefully placing cookies on the top plate. Then he carried it over to where M-21 was lying on one of the recovery cots and handed it to him.

M-21 took it with a little surprise in his eyes, but when _he_ handed you something you took it. The cookies were for _him,_ and he was handing them out to M-21? And the rest of RK – Tao got the next plate.

"Thank you!" Tao said, feeling like the cookies were a reward for succeeding at the whole knight thing, even knowing that _he_ didn't quite think that way.

 _He_ nodded, and brought the next plate to Takeo. The remaining cookies were piled on the bottom plate – the biggest – and he turned around and went upstairs.

* * *

Regis had managed to change into his pyjamas before collapsing into bed. He hoped Seira was also getting some sleep – she preferred not to since she reached her majority, because it was childish, although it was no shame to be damaged in honorable battle and need to recover.

He was awakened by the sound of the tea cart wheels stopping outside his bedroom door, followed by a knock. "Come in," he said.

Sir Raizel opened the door, then picked up a plate and a teacup with saucer from the tea cart. Carrying them in, he put them on Regis' bedside table.

"Thank you," Regis said automatically, picking up the cup. He remembered his parent – and if he was away on duty, some of the clan's adults – bringing him tea and something to eat after he exerted himself training. It was an honor to have the noblesse acknowledge that Regis had fought hard despite being so young – but his brow creased when he realized that the houseowner might not be happy that his Master had bothered himself with trivial things.

Sir Raizel simply nodded elegantly and went to the door, shutting it behind him. The cart rolled over to Miss Seira's door, and he knocked there again.

Regis inspected the plate, and picked up a cookie.

* * *

The next time the elevator door opened, it was _him_ again, pushing a tea cart laden with three cups and saucers.

' _He_ brought us tea!' Tao realized. Wasn't that what you did when someone was sick, you brought them food in bed, and liquids to stay hydrated?

The first cup went to Takeo, Raizel leaning over a little to hand it to him elegantly. Then he went back to the cart to bring the next to Tao, and then to M-21.

"Thank you, sir," Takeo said, smiling, and M-21 nodded his thanks.

"Yeah," Tao agreed with his own smile, wondering what the black things on the shelf underneath were as _he_ returned to the cart to pick them up.

The first was put down on Tao's lap – a gaming laptop! So they had something to do while they healed up! Tao opened it up and found that the chat client was already open and a chatroom set up, with messages from Ikhan and the others already there waiting. That meant _he_ must have got the laptops ready for them, got them logged in and everything and let his friends know to send messages while he was waiting for the tea to be ready? "Thank you!" Tao said, fingers already flashing over the keyboard to tell Ikhan first that they would all be okay as Takeo put down his teacup to open up his laptop, M-21 watching them. Hmm, what would be a good cover story to tell the kids for why they would be absent for a few days?

 _He_ nodded again, seeming satisfied, and went over to the cookie machine, programming it for another batch of cookies. Then he went upstairs, taking the tea cart with him. A couple of minutes later, Regis and Seira responded to the chat.

* * *

The door swung open. Frankenstein knew without looking that it had to be Master, no one else would come in his room. Forget coming in without knocking.

Frankenstein was lying in his bed, stomach wrapped securely to keep any blood from getting on the sheets. It would have been neater to recover in a tube, but the children needed to stay where the lab equipment could monitor them, and he didn't want to be floating there, making them wonder just how badly he must have been hurt to need the tube when he'd never gone into one of them before.

He heard the teacart wheel into the room, and Master came to his bedside, pushing the cart. On top of the cart was a plate of tea cookies, which Master handed to him, two cups of tea and a glass teapot with the sugar bowl.

Frankenstein's eyes softened. "Master…"Master wanted to have tea with him, even if Frankenstein couldn't sit in the living room with Master?

He might have felt bad about Master exerting himself – and Frankenstein's failure to bring Master his tea! – except that he'd succeeded in keeping Master out of the fight. So Master was less exhausted than he would have been, at least. Had more energy for things like this, instead of being so tired because of Frankenstein's failure to protect him and keep him well.

Master poured tea for them both as Frankenstein watched, handing Frankenstein his cup and then mixing sugar into his own. Then he brought Frankenstein's desk chair over to sit at the side of Frankenstein's bed as Frankenstein shifted to prop himself up on pillows so that he could sit with his Master and drink tea. As they had centuries ago, and he could hope they would again centuries from now.

Master left after refilling Frankenstein's teacup, taking the tea cart with him, and Frankenstein lay back in the pillows and closed his eyes. He'd thought he would have trouble sleeping, but seeing Master so well was a relief. Now it was time to focus on his own health, so that he could recover and bring Master his tea again as soon as possible…

* * *

Raizel carefully prepared a larger pot of tea. He would refill Regis' cup, then Seira's, and then take the cart downstairs to the enhanced humans. While he was there, he would turn on the machine that made the experimental ramyeon. That way, there would be enough bowls for everyone to have family dinner at the same time, even if they should stay in bed instead of all gathering in one place. According to Yuna, the sick were supposed to drink plenty of liquids. Raizel was not surprised that ramyeon was good for the sick: it was one of those amazing human inventions, like chat rooms so that people could communicate with friends who were elsewhere. Chat rooms worked even outside the range of a mental link between pureblood nobles.

With the computers, the children could play games even though they weren't well enough to gather around the living room table. It would also keep them from getting 'bored.' Boredom was a human emotion, but the closest thing that Raizel could think of to it was the way he had felt, when centuries passed without anyone coming to visit him. It was very important to keep the children from feeling that way when they were already injured and hurting.

After everyone had ramyeon, he would go to the store to buy Get Well Soon cards. He would sign those the way their classmates signed Shinwoo's cast, since the children weren't injured enough to need casts.

When he went down to bring the children more tea, Tao was asleep with the laptop on top of his stomach, rising and falling as he breathed. Raizel carefully picked it up and put it on the bedside table.

"Thank you, sir," Takeo said again when he poured the tea.

"Thanks," M-21 said.

Raizel suppressed a sigh. He didn't do this for gratitude – if anything, he was a little miffed that everyone conspired to prevent him from helping to protect the home they had here. But emotions like that were difficult to express in words, and he didn't want to risk upsetting the children by saying the wrong thing.

Thank goodness for tea and ramyeon. The warm feelings from drinking tea with someone, the feeling Raizel experienced when Shinwoo brought him and everyone else bowls of ramyeon for the first time – those were easy to understand.


	11. Family Pets 3

_A part 3 of the cat story, which I'll leave in here instead of moving to its own file, I think, since this is likely to be the last one._

* * *

Tao was watching Orange jump from Raizel's lap to the couch's armrest to its back, and from there to Rai's shoulder to give Master cheek rubs, being careful not to get his fur stuck in the earring, when he let slip that, "I wish I could do that."

When they'd come home Orange was sitting there on _his_ lap, and had blinked at them and turned away regally, looking back at the hand that was petting him like _he_ was an evil overlord. Tao knew that was cat body language for trust and welcome, but if he hadn't done the research now that they had all these pets it would have seemed like regal noble elegance. He wondered how funny Boss found that, because it seemed like his sense of humor. It might be how he was able to read _him_ so well.

Boss turned back, blurring into his favorite place at _his_ side. "I could enhance you with the ability, it's fundamentally rather simple. It shares an underlying mechanism with noble healing, which I've already given you."

"Really, Boss?" Tao asked, excited.

"I don't see why not, if you want it," Boss said with a smile. "You're around enough cats that you'd have no trouble absorbing the subconscious knowledge of the proper anatomy."

And to Boss it really was just a small thing, giving Tao a power that would let him sneak around – not that Tao was going to use it to get into things Boss didn't want him getting into. What things even was Boss keeping secret from him? There was the research into Raizel's health, which Tao was avoiding because he didn't want the enemy being able to get anything about _him_ out of him, and what Frankenstein did in the privacy of his own rooms, but Boss _wanted_ to share knowledge and power with Tao.

"I wouldn't mind," Takeo said in solidarity, because if Tao was getting experimented on Takeo wanted to be there with him. Not because of Tao was getting power Takeo wanted it to, so Tao didn't become superior to him.

"That should also be fine, but I'm afraid that since M-21 is still gaining control over his werewolf transformation, adding in a second transformation power might have… unpredictable results."

The picture of M-21 trying to transform in battle and finding he was now a werepuppy flashed into Tao's mind. Yeah, it would be bad if M-21 ended up unable to access the power he'd need to survive in a fight with the Union.

The way Boss was smiling in relish, yeah, it was likely that M-21 would turn into Coco on the battlefield if they messed around with him. Or at least he wanted to scare them a bit so M-21 didn't feel left out, understanding that it was for a good reason.

* * *

"So now we can transform?" Tao asked, after getting out of the tube and wrapping himself in the big fluffy towels Frankenstein provided to keep them from dripping all over the lab floor.

"First you need to be exposed to cats to be sure that you have the pattern of their form," Frankenstein corrected him. "If you transform now, you might miss something vital. Master and I will stay with you tonight, and you can try transforming in the morning."

 _He_ nodded agreement from where he sat at the picnic table with tea and cookies. After taking another sip from his cup, he turned into Cream and padded over to them. Tao crouched down to pick him up, letting the noble cat up onto Tao's shoulder where he sat, leaning against Tao's head and purring.

Boss vanished, leaving Orange to twine around Takeo's feet before nudging them over to where their folded clothes were once they were dry enough.

Takeo took Tao's towel and put them both in the laundry machine, then got one of the fresh towels – kept heated – before they went upstairs.

Tea and Tech joined Orange in sitting on the heated towel in Takeo's lap – Tea was a black kitten when they got him, but he was now closer to full grown, while the white and black Tech was already an adult cat. Tech loved getting in among the cables of Tao's rig, even after Raizel had a talk with him about how cables weren't for chewing.

Tao wanted to get in there and see how much fun it was, maybe build something to climb around in with the cats. Boss might even like it the way he liked the scratching post sometimes, and _he_ loved new and interesting things. Building something for Cream to climb around in and share with the other cats would definitely make _him_ happy with Tao, the way petting _him_ did, and scratching in the right spots.

A smart man who would do well in society, Tao did that now, and was rewarded with Cream's purr.

* * *

Cream stayed with him all night, shifting between Tao's lap and the desk of the console while Tao watched the cameras and M-21 and Takeo's patrol routes. Takeo was definitely safe out there with Orange with him, so Tao didn't need to worry if he took a minute to stroke a hand down Cream's arched back as the kitty stretched and Tao listened to the rustling of Tech moving around in the cables.

In the morning they were all busy getting ready to go to school and work, so Tao didn't feel right doing the transformation _now_ , when he'd miss work if something went wrong.

Then the kids wanted to hang out and play games at the PC Bang after school, and he wanted to hang out with Ikhan more than he wanted to have more powers, which was a thought that always felt like he was sticking it to the Union, so he was way happy to be on Ikhan's team in Counterstrike.

Being a cat didn't seem to help Raizel out with predatory instincts any. He did his best to catch the feather wand that Tao had brought, but, well…

They kept playing until it was time for dinner, because no one wanted to miss Miss Seira's cooking and that included Tao, so it was only after the kids went home and all the dishes were done that he asked Boss, "Can we try it out?"

"Go ahead," Boss told him, and Tao just sort of _twitched_ into being a whole lot closer to the ground. He leaned forward, nose and whiskers keen to sniff around the edge of Boss' shoe.

His sense of smell wasn't any better as a cat – or maybe he should be glad his enhanced senses had carried over, although he didn't normally pay a lot of attention to smell – and Coco came over to sniff at him, wagging his tail, which made Tao realize that, "I must smell different, huh," but he didn't mind at all.

Turning around, he sniffed back at Coco because it seemed the polite thing to do for the puppy, and saw that Takeo was already transformed – had to be Takeo, Tea was smaller. As he watched, Takeo sat down and started grooming his long fur into place. Takeo wasn't as hung up on elegance as the nobles, but he cleaned his guns for fun and definitely liked things in their proper places.

Tao was more interested in someone _else_ smoothing out his fur, and Miss Seira was sitting down on the couch so he jumped up on it and asked her, "Would you mind petting me?"

She nodded – all the nobles could understand the animals – so Tao padded over and sprawled out across her lap. The way she stroked his fur made him feel very elegant. Of course, when this was Miss Seira! Then his nose pricked up, smelling Boss coming into the room with one of the treats platters.

When Miss Seira gave him a piece the raw fish didn't have that sweetness, which was weird, but it still tasted _really_ good, so he scarfed it down happily. "Thanks, Miss Seira!" he said, since he didn't have a wagging tail to tell her that he liked it.

Maybe he should try turning into a dog? But Boss got a cat to represent him, so staying a cat felt right.

Takeo was experimenting with balancing on M-21's shoulders, paws on M-21's head before he thought better of trying to sit on there. M-21's hair was really sleek.

Tea was the second of the actual animals to come over to say hello. Well, not _say_ it, but sniff him and plop down next to him on Miss Seira's lap, which was comfy. Tao liked it when one or two of the animals decided to spend part of the night with him, he liked having the company while he slept.

Oh, right! He remembered something suddenly, and wriggled out from between Tea and Miss Seira. Time to explore the Cable Forest! Could he still use his own cables?

Yes, he could, he verified, using one to take one of the pieces of fish from the platter, trying out taking bites off it this time. It was different without grinding teeth, huh.

Tech joined him in the cable forest, and they rubbed against each other companionably when they were trying to get past each other. Tao would _definitely_ build a place for the cats to play, he decided, as soon as he got his next paycheck. He couldn't leave Coco out, though, but Coco would be happiest with some time spent throwing a ball for Coco to scramble after.

Mind full of plans (and budget concerns, but he didn't worry about that when it was for _him_ too so Frankenstein wouldn't mind some of the household money going towards it), Tao still kept track of when it was getting towards time to start patrols, so he ran back down the stairs, tumbling a little at the end, and turned back into Tao. "I wonder what my name should be?" he wondered, since Tech was already taken.

"Tuxedo?" Takeo suggested. "That's a name for a black and white cat."

"Tux sounds good!" Tao gave him a thumbs up. "What about you, Takeo?"

Takeo looked thoughtful, but didn't reply.

"We could let the kids name you!" Tao suggested. "Or see if they have any ideas, anyway."

Takeo smiled. "That sounds good." That way he could meet the kids in cat form, too.

Tao was looking forward to that. Ikhan toyed with the feather wand a lot while they were playing games. He always liked playing with his little bro!

* * *

"More?" Tao asked, crouching down to look at the pet carrier. "Who are they?"

"Tesamu and Teira," Frankenstein said, putting down the carrier and opening the door.

A puppy that looked like an Irish Setter mix tumbled out, followed by a half-grown cat that looked like Orange.

Takeo drew in a breath. "Teira…"

Frankenstein looked at him, waiting.

After a moment Takeo smiled. "It would be nice if she was real."

The puppy was _a_ Teira. One that Takeo could hug and take care of. One that would love him back.

"I had a student for awhile," Frankenstein said, reminiscing. "He was giving information to the Union, but I've never doubted that he truly wanted to help people. It wouldn't have been safe to take him with me."

For either of them, not that Frankenstein would have cared about the danger to himself. So since Frankenstein was bringing home a pet to represent his student, it wasn't fair to leave out the family Takeo lost because the Union was the Union and would never have let him keep real family? "You're always thoughtful like that, Boss!" Tao said as he knelt down to hold out his hand, back first, introducing himself to the puppy and waiting while the kitten came over to give him a sniff. "So is the family complete now?"

"Yes," Frankenstein said slowly. "I think it is."

Unless _he_ brought home any more strays, animal or Union, but none of them would mind that.


	12. Beast

_For madameazzure's Noblesse Tenth Anniversary event, prompt 27 Beast._

* * *

It felt like stretching, felt _good_ when he transformed. M-21 shook himself afterwards, just to feel his body moving, everything flexing and working right.

"M-21?" M-24 had asked him.

M-21 had nodded first thing, then looked down at his paws and gone _oh shit_.

Being able to transform his hands was bad enough. If he had a transformation like this, they'd _never_ let him out of the lab if the scientists found out about it. And it wasn't like he'd meant to transform: he could do it inadvertently. In front of _cameras_.

After he managed to transform back was when he started saving all his pills for M-24. Because M-24 was the one who still had a chance of staying out of the labs, provided discovering M-21 didn't make them take another look at M-24.

That meant that at least they had some extra pills, when M-21 realized he didn't need them anymore.

But when he transformed back he made a face that was half a smirk and half a sneer. "Why couldn't I have done that in the lab? It was cold in the lab." So a big furry transformation would have been useful. The rest of the M-series could have slept around him to stay warm.

"It doesn't look like a regular transformation," M-24 said.

Shit. More reason for the scientists to be interested in him.

M-21 did his best to stay out of that form, for obvious (Union) reasons. It didn't even seem to be that much stronger than when he just grew the claws.

Poking around in Union files meant they were already aware of werewolves, like noblesse. So M-21 was based on a werewolf, the way M-24 was based on a noblesse. Not that they were human anymore, either of them. It wasn't like transforming or not made a difference to that.

He used the wolf transformation to fight Jake and it was still easy for Jake to beat him. It didn't make any difference at all, he thought, limping to his feet as the two noblesse looked at him. "So you know my secret," he said, turning back.

The two of them looked at him like they neither knew nor cared what he was talking about, far more concerned with the human children. Well, at least they weren't interested in dissecting him.

When the dark-haired noblesse told him that the power within him wasn't small and said to Awaken, M-21's body was in a humanoid form, not the wolf one, but when he got really furious he summoned a wave of energy, a lunging shape in the form of a wolf, and felt like his mind was half in his body and half in the wolf. The whole thing was weird, a disposable pawn like him beating an experiment like that, so he attributed it to the noblesse doing something and didn't think much of it. It wasn't like he could be that powerful on his own.

He used the wolf form to fight Shark and the others, when his claws weren't enough. It got its ass kicked too, but at least he bought enough time for the little noblesse – noble – to get back up and protect the kids. The kids weren't scared of him and all, Yuna and Suyi coming over to his side and wishing they could do something for him. It was nice, it was enough that they cared. For people like them, with a future, to care about a weakling like him.

Thank goodness the black-haired noble came in time to save them. And to tell M-21 to wake up, but that was less important. He'd gotten to his feet again, favoring his front right paw which was still injured, standing between the girls and the rest of the room while Frankenstein's Master sorted it out. He felt well enough to transform back once Frankenstein arrived, although it was nice that the two girls kept hold of him, kept him from falling over.

He woke up in wolf form, in a bed next to Takeo from DA-5. The modified human had stared at him in shock when M-21 transformed back, revealing such a dramatic transformation, so M-21 pointedly looked away from him until Takeo composed himself a little more.

Tao was the one to point out that M-21 should train in that form, not just in his humanoid transformation – the claws were getting more dramatic as time went on – and it came in handy when they went to Lukedonia. It also helped that the nobles were startled to see a werewolf attacking them, and M-21 could charge in and pounce on them while they were off-balance.

It came in very handy when they fought Cerberus – M-21 was a little stronger in the wolf form, even if not by all that much. He might be stronger than Tao and Takeo, but he was still weaker than everyone else in the house, even the noble kid. But it did seem like he was stronger than regular nobles, and then they asked Frankenstein to enhance them.

Having a werewolf's heart in his chest explained a lot, and maybe it was even better to be 'basically a werewolf' if he couldn't be human anymore. Better than being entirely Crombel's creation, not that he'd say that again where Frankenstein could hear it.

Frankenstein mostly enhanced his humanoid form, but that transformation came with the risk of going berserk after awhile. He stuck to the wolf a couple of times because he wanted to be sure to stay in control of himself, especially at the school. He didn't like that he'd revealed the wolf form to the fake M-24, even if that M-24 had seemed to already know about it. Had they stolen memories from his friend's body somehow? It gave M-21 another reason to wish he could have dug M-24 out of the rubble, to keep scientists from getting their hands on his friend's body _again_.

On the flight over to Lukedonia, M-21 had transformed when the seat they were on was hard and Tao had only brought a pillow for himself. Takeo had even taken a nap, leaning against him, and that was nice. Like what M-24 had done.

He took on the wolf form the time he fought his first real werewolf: it helped his head clear somehow, or at least it helped him keep his mind on the fact that this guy was just like the Union, and Tao and Takeo were going to die if M-21 didn't wake the hell up and keep him off them. Kentas got his head out of his ass once he spent some time as an experiment and got to see what it was like. Weird to see scientists letting experiments go, though, even if they weren't Union scientists and Frankenstein sure wouldn't take orders to torture people from anyone.

While they were fighting on the werewolf island M-21 saw a giant spectral wolf attack, like the one he'd used that time when awakened, but according to Kentas they didn't turn into wolves much, if at all. If they could and didn't, that was a waste: the form was handy for keeping comrades warm. It was a sign M-21 wasn't human anymore, but he knew _that_. He'd taken wolf form a few times when they flew back from the training island, to keep Takeo and Tao warm while they finished recovering from their injuries. Regis too, although he was too prideful about letting them know he was injured.

Tao scratched him when he did that. Felt nice, not that he was going to tell Tao that. He didn't need the encouragement. It was nice that Tao always knew what he meant when he made noises in wolf form during training, he didn't feel left out of the planning at all – and they needed to work together, or Frankenstein would get pissed that they were missing the point of the lesson and really let them have it.

He turned into a wolf on the flight back from the werewolves' place. Maybe to make room – the helicopter was a little crowded, and Tao'd been saying that, "You should lie down, M-21," which obviously wasn't going to work unless he lay down on the floor.

It was a bit of a relief to transform. He hadn't transformed while he was in Ignes' hands, of course, he wasn't going to give away _anything_ to a Union scientist. It had given him a bit of triumph while he was in her clutches, to have something about his body that she didn't know. Because it was _his_ body, not hers. _He_ was the one who got to do what he wanted with it (well, and Frankenstein), not her. Nothing she'd done had left a mark, and once he again he was glad to be modified, the same way he was when it let him save his comrades. That because of his body, he'd gotten what he wanted and the Union hadn't. A bit of triumph he'd though he'd never have, once he and M-24 realized how big the Union was.

"Good idea M-21, get comfy," Tao was saying, so M-21 shifted to press a little more against the bench, getting Tao's feet in under his body. "That's RK's werefootwarmer!"

M-21 gave him a bit of a glare, but not a serious one. Not when Tao and the others came all this way because he'd gotten himself captured.

He was just glad that everyone could fit in the helicopter now, and that they were going home.


	13. Celebration

_For madameazzure's Noblesse Tenth Anniversary event prompt 25 Celebration & for HiZeno, who translated another fic of mine into Chinese._

 _Contains a reference to my best understanding of something that happens in Noblesse S._

* * *

"It's a shame that Ajussi and the Hyungs aren't coming," Shinwoo said, climbing into the limo after leaving his bag by the side for the driver to load.

"I know," Ikhan agreed, still carrying his laptop bag. He must be disappointed that Tao wasn't joining them so that the two of them could work on computer things.

"At least nothing came up." Yuna also had a bag she was taking into the limo with her, one larger than her usual purse.

"Yeah," Suyi agreed. "I didn't have last minute work and Rai and the others didn't need to go to their home country all of a sudden – it's a miracle." She was dressed elegantly with sunglasses – they had caught on among the Central Order Knights for hiding their red eyes from shipwreck victims – and a scarf around her neck.

Regis felt a little guilty about the necessity of lying to his friends, even if it was to protect them. With the Union mostly destroyed, perhaps the truth could be revealed before too much longer? He would like to invite Ikhan and the others to his Coming of Age Ceremony, and he thought that Seira was considering courting Shinwoo and of course she couldn't do that with a lie between them.

"Let's look on the bright side, guys," Shinwoo said. "Midterms are over!"

That drew a, "Woo!" from the limo's human passengers as Regis sat down next to Ikhan. The three girls sat on the other side of the limo, with Rai in the front of the large space they were sitting in and Frankenstein up front with the driver. That meant he wouldn't have to see any mess they made of the space back here.

"I passed everything." Shinwoo still sounded relived about that as he rummaged among the drinks in a small refrigerator built into the car. "And so did Rai."

Rai nodded happily, thankful there hadn't been a repeat of the national standardized testing – he hadn't known how to mark the answers.

Frankenstein had been beside himself when he found out, going to his knees before a blushing, deeply embarrassed Master and saying that he deserved to die for the oversight. Regis and Seira had known what to do from taking tests in other countries, and Regis burned with shame that he hadn't thought of Raizel-nim.

He dared a glance at that august being and saw him nodding happily, proud that his hard work had paid off this time as Shinwoo passed him a can of cold, sweetened coffee.

"Here's a juice, Yuna," Shinwoo said, "and I found some tea for Seira and Regis."

"Thank you," Regis said politely, catching the drink.

He was sure Tao would be passing out the drinks if he was here, or Takeo might be as Tao drove the car, but the modified humans were staying with Sir Karias and Rael to guard the house. Dr. Crombel was still out there and he would surely make another attempt at Frankenstein's research if it was unguarded, the way his minions had come sniffing around the school when Ignes kidnapped Seira and Regis and Rael went after them with Raizel-nim, Frankenstein and Sir Rajak following. Thank goodness Sir Karias was there: after that time one of Crombel's minions poisoned their classmates, Regis didn't want them to come anywhere near his friends.

"Yuna, you've still got the snacks in your bag, right?" Shinwoo asked and Yuna nodded. "Can you pass me some chips?"

"Sure, Shinwoo." Yuna did and Regis could hear the munching as Shinwoo took a handful out of the bag and sat back in his seat.

Regis didn't think it would be his job to clean the limo, but he would ask the homeowner when they arrived at their destination. It was a hired vehicle, so it would only be polite to return it in proper condition. Leaving it messy would hardly be elegant.

The rest of the snacks remained in Yuna's bag. Shinwoo was hungrier than everyone else as usual. He ate when other humans weren't eating, slept when he was supposed to be awake: as Regis told Rael he was still admirable, dedicated to his will to protect.

"I can't believe we're going to a hot spring to celebrate the end of midterms," Yuna said, her face bright and cheerful as she sipped from her can of juice.

"Well," Suyi said, "When we took Rai to an amusement park, he just wanted to watch us on all the rides. A hot spring seems like it'd be more his thing, right Rai?"

"I'm sure it will," Yuna chimed in when Raizel-nim's expression revealed he didn't know. "The chairman picked it out, after all."

"Yeah, he knows Rai really well," Shinwoo agreed. "You can just sit back, relax and watch the waterfall or whatever."

Raizel-nim looked a little happy at the prospect of a waterfall to watch. He could spend their time at the hot spring in elegant contemplation: Regis resolved to do the same. Yuna and Shinwoo were right, Regis thought with relief. Raizel-nim would enjoy it.

What concerned Regis was that in some places humans wore only towels or nothing at all into hot springs. He hadn't dared ask what was the custom here. He couldn't imagine someone as elegant as Raizel-nim disrobed, but surely the Chairman wouldn't let him end up in that kind of situation.

Surely not, right?

* * *

Rai sank down into the water, feeling the heat relax his body.

It had looked like the pools they had at school and in one of the levels underneath the house, but the heat was very pleasant. When Frankenstein asked him, "Is it to your liking, Master?" he would definitely nod and use the hot pool that Frankenstein would undoubtedly install in among his labs.

He ignored Shinwoo, Ikhan and Regis staring at his body in the swimsuit Frankenstein made for him. They couldn't help it: two of them were human and Regis possessed a deep admiration of elegance. He was glad that Frankenstein was also admiring the view: Franken had worked hard and deserved it.


	14. Celebration 2

Seira delicately stepped into the pool, mimicking Yuna and Suyi by sitting on the ledge around the outside of the pool. She let out a light sigh. If hot water felt this good, she might start taking baths or showers even though unlike humans she didn't need them to keep clean.

"It's lovely here, isn't it?" Suyi said happily.

Nodding, Seira admired the flowers around the pool. She was sure that Raizel-nim would enjoy this place. Her housekeeping teacher's taste was as impeccable as always.

* * *

The water came up to Regis and Ikhan's chins. It was a reminder that the others were so much taller than them.

It hadn't been that long since they got in, and Shinwoo was fidgeting under the water.

Regis opened one eye to shoot a glare at him: up until that Regis was medicating or something, looking remote and elegant.

"Bored, Shinwoo?" the Chairman asked, raising an eyebrow but still smiling tolerantly. He was a little fond of Shinwoo and all the trouble he got into, he had to be – at another school Shinwoo would have been expelled ages ago, even though Shinwoo really didn't try to pick fights, it just happened. It was worse now that he had a reputation, Shinwoo of Ye Ran, though, and he wouldn't have that reputation if there hadn't been so many fights and yet Shinwoo was still at Ye Ran.

"No, I'm good," Shinwoo said quickly, ducking his shoulders down under the water and sending a light ripple out across the pool. "What about you, Rai?" he asked, not daring to glance in Rai's direction.

Ikhan agreed with that. Rai was just too pretty sometimes. The chairman was bad enough with his collarbone exposed above the water, glistening with a few droplets and his blond hair darkened with water and falling over his shoulders.

And Ikhan didn't like guys. The whole school considered Rai and Regis exceptions though, just like Seira. They were used to it by now: the Chairman had been way pretty since Ikhan started at Ye Ran. It was fun to see the people who hadn't met him while they were applying during the start of year assembly. It just made it worse that the Chairman was really nice and caring and wasn't mad if you got sent to his office, like Shinwoo regularly did.

Well, he didn't get mad unless it was something really bad, like bullying, but the whole school didn't want to disappoint the Chairman. They knew other schools didn't have such a nice chairman. Most private schools were mostly concerned with money and reputation, not about the students and letting them have a good time.

Under the water the Chairman didn't look motherly at all, though. He had a more well-muscled chest than anyone but Shinwoo – Rai and Regis were both leaner and Ikhan didn't exercise outside of PE.

Adjusting his glasses, Ikhan blushed and sternly told himself to stop thinking about his friends' bodies! It wasn't like he hadn't seen them before when they went swimming in the pool in the Chairman's basement.

The Chairman leaned his head back and closed his eyes, peacefully enjoying the water thankfully unaware of Ikhan's thoughts. Regis did the same a couple of seconds later, while Rai gazed contemplatively at the garden that surrounded the pool. There was a small, artistically arranged waterfall where the hot water flowed into the pool. Rai was enjoying watching it.

It was all very peaceful and everything, with the light of the full moon streaming down, but Ikhan's fingers started to itch for his laptop and Shinwoo must be having an even worse time of it. Class was enough sitting still for him, and they'd had a long car ride to get here.

Or no, Shinwoo wasn't bored. There he went, snoring. Regis got up to furiously poke him, casting glances at Rai and the Chairman as though he was trying to silence Shinwoo before he woke _them_ up.

Both of them ignored Shinwoo as he sputtered and said, "What?" blinking blearily at Regis who sat back, satisfied now that Shinwoo wasn't being noisy anymore.

"You snored," Ikhan whispered, leaning over towards Shinwoo.

"Sorry, I thought I'd sleep on the ride," but they ended up talking the entire trip over. And it was fascinating to be riding in a limo too – the trip was Ikhan's first time in one.

"If you want you could go up to our rooms and rest, Shinwoo," the Chairman said, not opening his eyes.

"I'll go with him," Ikhan said quickly. He hadn't stayed up as late last night as Shinwoo had, but he didn't want to fall asleep in the water. As the two of them got out, Regis joined them.

"You don't have to come with us, Regis," Ikhan said.

Regis snorted. "I'm escorting you to the rooms."

"You don't have to…" Seeing Regis' almost-glare, Shinwoo threw up his hands. "Okay, we're going!" They knew how stubborn Regis was about walking them home from the Chairman's place.

Regis smiled to himself, pleased that things were going properly. It wasn't as though Shinwoo needed Regis to protect them, though. They headed into the inn, leaving Rai and the Chairman alone in the hot spring, under the moon.


End file.
